Babysitting Angels
by Wingstar23
Summary: When a five-year-old angel suddenly crashes into the midst of the Suzaku Shichiseishi things are bound to go screwy...especially if tasuki has to watch her! Rated for Tasuki language.ch 15 up
1. Rosie

****

A/N: This is a fic I came up with one day sitting in math class. I thought it was kinda cute so I'm testing it out on ff.net. Tell me whatcha think. Disclaimer: Fushigi Yuugi isn't mine but Rosie is.

Babysitting Angels 

It was a nice calm day in Konan where we find a certain fiery haired seishi out on the palace grounds for a walk. Suddenly out of nowhere a small, winged figure fell out of the sky and landed right on top of him.

"What the fuck!" Tasuki exclaimed, jumping to his feet and shoving the tiny figure off of him.

"You swearded!" gasped the miniature figure, blue eyes wide.

"Oh sweet Suzaku! It's…It's little and has…wings?" the bandit stammered in shock.

The girl looked innocently up at him and Tasuki yelled "Chiri'!"

Almost instantly a blue-haired monk with inch long, gravity-defying bangs appeared next to Tasuki, the rings of his shakujo chiming.

"What's wrong, no da?" Chichiri asked in concern.

Tasuki was so shocked he couldn't speak, so the bandit pointed at the small, winged girl in front of him his mouth opening and closing in horror. The girl was about three feet high with medium length red hair and a white tunic with two rips in the back to let her downy wings out.

Chichiri jumped in surprise as realization came over him. "Oh my gosh! It's an angel, no da!" breathed the monk "How'd you get here na no da?"

"I dunno." The girl told him " I fell outta the sky 'cause my wings got tired an' I landed on that guy over there." she pointed at Tasuki " An' then he yelled at me an' you appearded outta nowhere an' an ... I wanna go home!" wailed the tiny angel, tears sliding down her cheeks.

Chichiri went over to the girl and gently picked her up. "Aww, it's okay little one." He told her soothingly "We'll get you home, no da."

The girl calmed down a bit and put her arms around Chichiri's neck, face buried in the monk's shoulder.

"It's okay, I've got you." the monk reassured. "Do you have a name, no da?" 

The girl sniffled a bit as she lifted her face and wiped at her eyes. "Y-yeah." She stammered, voice no more than a whisper "My name's Rosie. Rosie Hiragashi."

"Just perfect!" Tasuki burst out, finally getting over his initial shock at finding an angel "We gotta look after a pint-sized nuisance now? Like we don't have enough shit to take care of already!" the bandit paced back and forth running a hand through his hair "What are we supposed to do with her Chi-san?"

The magician gave Tasuki a helpless sort of look. "I'm not exactly sure, Tasuki. I've never taken care of an angel before, let alone one so young."

"Hey!" Rosie piped up "I'm not a baby! I can take care of myself." she said indignantly.

"Yeah right, kid. Suuure ya can." Tasuki retorted sarcastically.

"I can so!" the girl shot back, flying out of Chichiri's arms and hovering at eye level with Tasuki "I'm five whole years old y'know!" She held up four fingers to prove her point.

"You can't even count right!" The hotheaded seishi returned, starting to get annoyed.

"Be fair Tasuki." Chichiri cut in "she's only five, no da."

"Five or not, we still ain't got time to look after a fuckin' kid!" the bandit cried in exasperation.

"You swearded again!" Rosie gasped, flying back a few steps "You need to be taught manners!" the girl raised her right hand and the palm glowed with an eerie white light.

Chichiri realized with horrible clarity what she was about to do. "No!" he yelled and jumped in front of Tasuki. He was just in time to block the ki blast and the small sphere of energy disappeared into the blue sky above.

"Rosie!" he shouted "You mustn't throw ki blasts!"

The tiny angel landed softly and hung her head. "'Men nasai." she said quietly, clasping her hands in front of her.

"It's okay, no da. Just don't do it anymore." the monk told her "Now, I have to warn the other seishi about this…ah…situation, so you'll have to watch Rosie alright?"

"What!?" Tasuki cried in horror "I gotta watch her? Why don't _you_ watch her and I'll give the others the heads up!"

"Be reasonable, no da." Chichiri told the bandit "Besides, she found you first, so you should get to watch her." he added with an impish grin." Besides I think she likes you, no da."  

With that he disappeared under his kesa, leaving Tasuki standing there staring at Rosie.

*********** This chapter's a little short 'cause it's kinda late and my brain stopped working but I think it'll be okay as a beginning. Tell me if this's worth continuing or not. 'till next chapter of whichever fic I get around to first. Oh yeah and here's a glossary of the Japanese words I used:

'Men nasai-short for Gomen Nasai which means 'I'm very sorry'

~Tenshi Kitsune~             


	2. Head's Up Genchan, She's Fast!

A/N: Well this fic seems to be popular so here's ch 2! And to answer TA Maxwell's question, no this most definitely will NOT be a Tas/Chi fic. The reason for that is 'cause I'm one of those people who think Tasuki and Chichiri are both STRAIGHT thankyouverymuch. So yeah enough of that and on to the chapter right after I say this Fushigi Yuugi is Watase Yuu's and Rosie's mine so don't take me to court.

For a good five minutes Tasuki and Rosie stood there, just staring at each other Tasuki in disbelief and slight disgust, Rosie with curiosity and mischief shining out of her eyes. Finally the angel broke the silence by saying brightly " So whatcha' wanna play first?"

"_Play_?!" demanded Tasuki "You gotta be kiddin' me!"

Rosie gave the bandit a funny look. " What, you never play anymore? Geeze you're boring." An impish smile lit up the girl's features as she spied the tessen sticking out from behind the young man. "I know…Let's play 'Keep Away'!" With that the angel darted forward and grabbed the tessen out of its holster, flying down the hallway as fast as she could.

"Hey! Get back here with that ya little thief!" cried the fiery seishi, giving chase.

"Gotta catch me first!" Rosie called back gleefully.

In a matter of minutes Tasuki's seishi speed had allowed him to catch up to the tiny angel. He grabbed hold of the girl's wings and yanked her back.

"Ha! I'll take my tessen back, thank you." he said triumphantly, snatching the iron fan back from the girl.

"Owwww! You hurted my wing, you big meanie!" yelped the small angel. She started to cry loudly and Tasuki groaned. 

"Aw c'mon, kid! It was only a little tug!" he said, in a weak effort to calm Rosie down.

The girl only cried harder so, Tasuki, not knowing what else to do did what he'd seen Chichiri do. He pulled the girl into his arms and patted her head awkwardly.

"It's alright…C'mon don't cry." he said soothingly "There's a good girl. Calm down…"

Rosie whimpered as she rubbed tears out of her eyes. "Can you kiss the hurt and make it all better?" she sniffled.

Tasuki's eyes widened. "Oh no ya don't! There're some lines I just won't cross!" he exclaimed in horror.

The tiny girl in his arms looked up at him with tearful blue eyes. Her lower lip trembled threateningly and she started to make small sobbing noises again.

"Okay! Alright!" Tasuki said in alarm "Just don't start cryin' again!" He kissed the angel on the tip of her wing and gave her a resentful glare. "Happy now?"

Rosie nodded. "Domo arigato." she said in the most adorable voice Tasuki had ever heard. She wriggled out of the bandit's arms and stared up at him a look of complete innocence in her eyes. "Now what?" the girl asked, folding her wings behind her.

Tasuki stared at the miniscule child and laughed in spite of himself. "You're a real firecracker aren't 'cha?" 

"That's what they tell me!" grinned Rosie. One of her front teeth was missing and her small canines stuck over her lower lip, looking almost like fangs.

The bandit laughed again and said "Y'got fangs too. Just like me."

"Yup" Rosie said proudly " An' fire-colored hair too, only mine doesn't have orange in it."

"Y'might not be too bad after all." Tasuki told her, showing off his own fangs.

Rosie giggled. "You're funny, mister."

"Don't call me mister!" the bandit told her  "Makes me sound old."

"But you _are_ old. An' 'sides, what'm I s'posed to call you?" Rosie asked 

Choosing to ignore the fact that he'd just been called old, Tasuki shrugged and said, "Call me Tasuki or Genrou or Shun'u. Anythin' but mister."

" 'Kay. So what do we do now Gen-chan." the angel repeated hopping up and down, her bare feet barely making a sound as they hit the wooden floor of the hallway.

Tasuki thought for a minute. "You wanna see somethin' cool?" 

"Yeah!" Rosie exclaimed, her eyes shining with curiosity.

"Then c'mon." Tasuki lifted the angel onto his shoulders and carried her towards the forest.

***********Well there's chapter two. I tried to make it as long as I could but life got in the way. Gomen! Now the glossary:

Domo arigato means thank you very much

And there's the end for now. Tell me whatcha think.

~Tenshi Kitsune~ *****************


	3. Bandit Raid

A/N: Hello again to all my readers/reviewers! Here's chapter three to my surprisingly well-liked new ficcy. The traditional disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi but I own Rosie so get off my case. And now the chapter….

Tasuki carried Rosie deep into the forest and into a small clearing. There was a small hole in the forest's canopy that let in the sunlight and let the rays dance across the floor and the two figures that stood in the middle of the circle of light.

"Watch this." he said, as the angel flew off his shoulders. The bandit reached behind himself and pulled out his tessen. "Stay back now." he warned "REKKA SHIN'EN!" he cried, aiming the iron fan at a nearby boulder.

Flames shot from the end of the tessen and the boulder was reduced to a pile of ashes.

"Cool!" Rosie shouted excitedly "Can I try? Onegai? Onegai? Can I?" she pleaded, bouncing from one foot to the other.

"It might not work for you but sure, knock yourself out kid." the bandit told her. He handed her his tessen and she held it with both hands.

"Wow, this's heavy." she observed "Oh well. Here goes…REKKA SHIN-"

"Wait a minute!" Tasuki yelled, cutting off the spell "Aim at the sky! We don't wanna start a forest fire!"

The angel nodded and pointed the fan towards the heavens. "'Kay. One…Two…'Free! REKKA SHIN'EN!" she cried. The flames shot forward once more and the force of them made Rosie stumble backwards, letting the tessen drop until it was aimed directly at Tasuki.

"Watch it you baka child!" he yelped as he dove for the ground "Y'almost fried me!"

"I am not a baka, dumbass!" the angel shot back.

"Big words for such a little lady." Tasuki taunted.

"Just 'cause I don't say 'em doesn't mean I don't know the words." Rosie retorted insolently.

Tasuki grinned at her. "Got me there, kid. Now gimme my tessen back and we'll go see what other hell we can raise."

The angle grinned evilly. "Nuh-uh. I wanna play wif it some more."

When Tasuki reached forward to grab his precious fan back, Rosie jumped into the air laughing. "Now you'll never get it back!" she cried joyfully.

"Fine you win." the bandit said in apparent defeat "I guess I'll just have to tell the kitchen guys that you don't want any of their cookies...too bad." he said, putting his hands in his pockets and scuffing his feet on the ground.

"Really? Cookies?" the small girl asked "The chocolate kind?"

Tasuki nodded. "But you're busy, so I'll just tell them to give 'em to Miaka." he said sadly, starting to walk back towards the palace.

"Hay no! Wait! I do want cookies! I do!" Rosie exclaimed, landing almost immediately and grabbing hold of the back of Tasuki's coat. "Don't give 'em to Miaka! Here's your tessen back!"

The seishi took his tessen back and grinned down at the small angel's pleading face. "Works every time." he laughed, shaking his head at her. He detached the girl from his coat and took her by the hand. "C'mon let's get those cookies for you."

"Who's Miaka?" Rosie asked as they wandered through the forest.

"She's the Suzaku No Miko." Tasuki told her.

"Who's Suzaku?" Rosie asked him, mischief in her eyes again.

"He's our god, and if you ask me what a god is I'm gonna swat you." he said, turning an accusing stare on the tiny angel.

The girl smiled up at him. "Are we there yet?" she asked instead.

"Just about." the bandit replied "D'you know how to do a 'hit and run' raid?"

Rosie gave him a puzzled look. "What's that?"

"Basic bandit skills." the other explained "You sneak in real quietly, take what you want then run like hell."

"Cool." Rosie breathed, showing off her tiny fangs.

Tasuki nodded. "Okay. See those doors up ahead? That's the kitchen. Remember what I told you run in take the brown jars and run, got it?"

"Hai!" the angel whisper-yelled.

"Good. Now when I say three run. One…" they crept up to the doors "two…"they got ready to push them open "three!" the bandit cried.

They two raiders shoved the doors opened and ran in. Rosie flew up and grabbed a fairly large jar off the counter then ran. She raced out, Tasuki not far behind, ducking a flying wooden spoon.

"Whatcha doin' standing there?" the fiery seishi called as he ran past her "Make your getaway!"

Rosie squealed in delight and followed her flame haired babysitter around a corner and into his room.

**********And there chapter three for you! I'd write more but I'm stuck for now. Tell me what you think and here's the glossary:

Hai means yes or right

Onegai means please

Baka means idiot or stupid 

Rekka Shin'en is the tessen spell (duh)

So that's it. See you in chapter four!

~Tenshi Kitsune~ ************************* 


	4. Rosie's Magic

A/N: Well here it is people,Ch4! Thankies to all my readers and Emmi-chan? Sure you can give Rosie a hug! Anyone can! I'm so glad you like this fic 'cause it's my favorite to write. Anyhow disclaimer time: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi but I own Rosie. So now the chappy….

The two ran in and Tasuki slammed the door shut behind him.

"Did you get the right jar, kid?" he asked pulling the top off the small earthenware jar he was holding.

"I hope so." Rosie told him crossing her legs in midair and pulling the lid off her jar.

She peered into it and found a bunch of dried mushrooms and mint leaves. "All I got is leaves and mushrooms." she pouted "What'd you get?"

Tasuki reached into his jar and pulled out a handful of….

"Honey?! Aw crap!" he exclaimed, looking at the sticky, golden syrup all over his hand. "Now every goddamn bee in Konan's gonna be after me!"

Rosie put her hands up to her mouth to stifle a giggle and landed next to Tasuki. Laying aside her own jar, she plunged both her hands into the honey jar.

"Now the bees'll be after _me._" she said giving Tasuki a teasing smile.

"You're impossible." the bandit told her in mock-aggravation.

"Probably. But I'm the cutest thing around so the two balance." the tiny angel replied impudently, putting her hand in her mouth "An' th' stickiest too." she added around her fingers.

Tasuki laughed and picked up Rosie with his clean hand. "C'mon, kid, let's go clean up before we get everything full of honey." he told her shaking his head in amusement.

The bandit carried Rosie into his bath chamber and set her down on the floor. "Wait there a minute and for the love of Suzaku _don't touch anything_!"

"I won't." the angel said sweetly.

"Good." With that the flame haired seishi turned and started rinsing the honey off his hands.

Rosie waited until she was sure that Tasuki wasn't looking then she spun around and put both her hands on the walls. She grinned mischievously and, clapping a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing, she started finger-painting on the wall. 

_It's way too quiet._ Tasuki thought. He turned around and saw exactly _why_ his tiny charge had been so quiet the last five minutes. "What the hell!" he cried.

The angel turned and gave him her best 'cute-evil' look. "I'm painting." she said in a tone that said 'well isn't it obvious?'.

"Why?" the bandit asked, trying his best not to kill her.

"'Cause it's fun." the girl told him.

"Oh. Okay then." the fiery seishi answered as calmly as he could "And what did I tell you not three minutes ago?"

"Not to touch anything." Rosie quoted.

"So why are we painting on the _walls?!_" the bandit demanded.

The girl shrugged. "I dunno. I'm allowed to do it at home…" she muttered sullenly.

"Well you're not allowed to do it here!" Tasuki finally exploded "Now I've gotta clean this up! As if I have nothin' better to do!"

"Is that why you're so mad?" Rosie asked, face brightening "I can fix that real easy!" she used her tunic to clean the rest of the honey off her hands, clapped them three times and aimed her palms at the wall. " Brillante!" she yelled. A flash of white light shot from her hands and hit the wall. The angel looked up at Tasuki who was rubbing his eyes, and gave him a grin.

"See? Now we can go play some more." she said happily.

The bandit just stared.

"Hello? Earth to Gen-chan!" Rosie laughed jumping up and down, waving her arms "What did you expect? I can throw ki blasts so that can't be the only magic I can do y'know."

Tasuki shook his head and sighed. "Just my luck I get stuck with the smart-aleck of the angel world." he muttered. Out loud he asked "Well, do you have any spells to clean _yourself_ up?" 

The girl thought a second. "Nope. I don't know any of those yet." she told him apologetically. "But you don't gotta worry 'bout me either 'cause I don't mind if my tunic's dirty. It's always like that."

"Now what kind of a babysitter would I be if I let you walk around like that?" the flame-haired seishi asked, raising one eyebrow. "C'mon you can use one of my shirts."

Rosie nodded and followed Tasuki back to his room. The bandit pulled one of his smaller shirts out of a drawer and tossed it to Rosie. "Here. Put that on and leave your tunic in here. We'll get someone to clean it up later."

Rosie gave him a grateful look and did as she was told. "So now what Gen-chan?" she asked.

"What do you wanna do next?" Tasuki asked the angel.

She thought for a second and then cried "Apple catch!" her blue eyes dancing in excitement.

"Sounds good to me." Tasuki agreed "How do you play?"

"Well, first you take an apple, then you catch it." Rosie explained. "It's not hard. You'll catch on fast, I promise."

The bandit shrugged and took Rosie by the hand. "C'mon then. There's a bunch of fruit trees right near the pond, you ca teach me there."

Rosie smiled up at her flame-haired babysitter and nodded as they set out towards the water.

********Well there's chapter four for ya! Sorry I took so long to post it school got in the way. Anyways see you in ch5

~Tenshi Kitsune~  *****************************


	5. Apple Catch

A/N: it's chapter five(the right one)! Sorry I got the wrong chapter up there, sometimes I'm too absent minded for my own good. This is gonna be fairly loopy because I'm too sugar-high for my own good right now but whatever. I don't own Fushigi Yuugi, only Rosie so lemme 'lone! And on to the chappy…

 Rosie followed Tasuki to a small grove of trees and the angel's eyes widened as she looked around.

"I never seeded so many trees in my whole life." breathed the tiny girl. Suddenly her face broke into a fanged grin as she spotted an apple tree. "There! Look a apple tree!" she took off in the direction of the tree and Tasuki followed.

"Heads up Gen-chan!" Rosie yelled.

"What?" Tasuki turned around and promptly got nailed in the head with a bright red apple. "Oww! Damnit that hurt!" he yelped in surprise, rubbing the side of his head with one hand.

Rosie giggled. "You're funny!"

"Show you funny…" the bandit muttered sullenly. Picking up the apple, the seishi flung it back at Rosie.

The angel caught it easily and jumped into the air as she threw the fruit back at Tasuki.

The bandit caught it this time and threw it back at Rosie. This went on for a while and Rosie started getting bored with the game.

"Stop throwin' like a girl!" the angel called playfully as she shot her best fastball at her babysitter.

"A girl?! _Excuse me?_" the fiery seishi exclaimed, pretending to take offense. He caught the apple that was flying towards his face and whipped it back at Rosie. "Take that!" he yelled, a look of childlike energy in his eyes.

Rosie cried out happily as she was propelled backwards a little with the force of the throw. "That's more like it!" she laughed, a mischievous look in her eyes once more. 

The girl pitched the apple back at Tasuki and he shot it back at her with all his strength. This time Rosie was a little bit too slow and the apple hit her squarely in the face.

The tiny angel's face registered shock for a second, and then twisted in pain. Her hands flew up to her face and she fell towards the earth.

Tasuki gasped in alarm as soon as he saw the girl get hit and he ran to catch her before she hit the ground. She fell gently into his arms sobbing and shaking, hands over her face.

"You okay?" the bandit asked worriedly.

Rosie shook her head and took her hands away from her face to reveal a bloody mess and a purple cheek. "It hurts." she whimpered softly, putting one hand back over her nose and mouth "An' I'm bleeding."

"It's okay, kid. We'll get you fixed up." Tasuki reassured her "Don't cry…"

He tore a small piece of material off his shirt and handed it to the angel. " Put it over your nose." he instructed, cradling her gently in his arms "Now let's get you inside."

He ran back to his room, the crying little girl held protectively to his chest. He set the angel on his bed and handed her a fresh cloth. "Stay here while I get Mitsukake, alright?" he said caringly.

Rosie nodded, small shoulders trembling as she tried to stop crying.

The bandit backed out of the room and bolted down the hall to the quarters of Suzaku's healer.

"Hey! Open up Mits!" he yelled urgently, hammering on the door. 

The door opened and the gentle healer appeared in the doorframe.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his face showing his confusion.  

"Well, see, an angel kinda found me this morning and then I had to watch her and we were playing before and now she's hurt." the flame haired young man said all in a rush "Her face is all full of blood and her cheek's purple. Can you fix her up?"

Mitsukake nodded and followed Tasuki back to his room, bag of medicine in one hand, Tama-Neko on his shoulder. The healer went in and found Rosie sitting on Tasuki's bed face bloody and tear-streaked.

The tiny angel's eyes widened at the sight of the tall man and she shrank back in fear, lower lip starting to tremble a little.

"It's okay, kid. He's here to help you." Tasuki said soothingly, going to sit next to the girl and pulling her into his lap.

Rosie looked up into his amber eyes a look of complete trust in her eyes and nodded.

Mitsukake knelt in front of Rosie and carefully pulled her hand away from her face. 

The girl's nose and lip seemed to be bleeding and she had a stunning bruise on the side of her face, but was okay otherwise. 

"You're alright." he told the small girl. Taking the cloth she held, the doctor lightly started cleaning the blood off her face. He accidentally brushed the girl's injured cheek with his hand and the angel let out a small squeak.

"Hey! Don't hurt her!" Tasuki protested, pulling Rosie backwards a little.

The healer couldn't help but smile a little at how gentle and protective the bandit was with his tiny charge. "It was an accident." he told the young man "I won't hurt her, I promise."

The bandit nodded shortly and Mitsukake finished mopping up Rosie's face. The tall healer took a bandage out of his bag and put some sort of slave on it. Putting it over the bruise on the angel's face he smiled. 

"There. All better." he told the girl kindly "Be careful now and don't hit your cheek or else it'll hurt, okay?"

Rosie gave him a watery smile and nodded. "Domo arigato." she sniffled.

"Anytime." The doctor replied. He picked up his bag and turned to leave. He was almost out the door when he felt a small hand tugging on his sleeve. The healer looked down and found Rosie looking up at him Tama-Neko in her arms.

"You dropped your cat, mister." the girl said seriously. She held out the tiny kitten and Mitsukake laughed.

"How'd you get over there?" he asked the white fluff-ball in his hands.

"He jumped off your shoulder when you were leaving." Rosie told him "You gotta be more careful or else you'll lose him."

Mits laughed again and shook his head as he headed out the door. "See you later guys." he called over his shoulder.

"Later." Tasuki and Rosie called together.

********* well that's it for chapter five because I'm tired and still have math work to do. Here a glossary of the words I used and then see you next chapter

Domo Arigato- thank you very much

Tama-Neko- Mitsukake's cat (Duh)

And that's it. Ja ne minna!     ~Tenshi Kitsune~ *****************

!! 


	6. Kids

A/N: well it took longer than I wanted it to but here's chapter 6! I don't own Fushigi Yuugi but I do own Rosie so ask if you wanna use her! And to the chappy…

"Now you're _sure_ you're okay, right?" Tasuki asked for the fifth time in twenty minutes as they wandered around the palace grounds.

"Yes already!" Rosie cried in exasperation "See?" she demanded flying up so that she was face to face with Tasuki. "I'm not missin' anymore teeth than I already was before, my nose stopped bleeding and I'm not crying so I'm okay."

"You're sure?" the bandit asked again, giving her a questioning stare.

The tiny angel put a hand over her face and sighed. "It was a accident right Gen-chan?"

Tasuki nodded.

"That means you didn't mean it. I'm okay an' you said you were sorry like six million jillion times already so it's okay." the girl told him, looking him straight in the eyes. Her blue eyes were serious and her face showed forgiveness and honesty. 

Tasuki looked into those eyes and smiled. "I know. It's just that I feel so bad that I hit 'cha." the bandit admitted "I mean, I was supposed to be watching you and I ended up hurting you." 

"I made you." Rosie said quietly, slowly lowering herself to the ground. She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head. "I'm sorry… I never meant to make you feel bad." Her lower lip trembled and she looked up at Tasuki, waiting for his reaction. 

The flame haired seishi knelt down and reached out a hand to try and brush away a tear that had found it's way down the angel's face. 

Rosie's eyes widened in fear and she shut her eyes, flinching back from his touch. 

Tasuki quickly pulled his hand back. _Great. Now she's afraid of me._ he thought miserably   . "It's alright." he told her gently "I'm not going to hurt you."

Rosie opened her eyes and looked at him. "Y-you're not?" she asked tentatively.

Tasuki shook his head.

"Y-you mean…y-you're…you're not gonna h-h-it me?" the angel questioned between sobs.

"Of course not!" Tasuki exclaimed in shock "Why the hell would I even think of doing that?"

" I- I dunno… I-It's just that…that…" the girl trailed off as her words dissolved into sobs. She reached towards the young man and stumbled into his arms crying.

He held her tightly as she sobbed into his shirt. "It's gonna be alright. Gen-chan's gotcha now. C'mon shh…"he whispered over and over as her crying got softer. "Why d'you think I would hit you?" he asked quietly. 

"'Cause I got hurt." the girl told him in a small voice "An' I'm not s'posed to."

"Who told you it wasn't right to get hurt?" Tasuki asked sharply "Whoever it was is pretty stupid. I mean a kid ain't a kid unless they get hurt once in awhile."

"Really?" Rosie asked, looking up at him and brushing tears out of her eyes.

"Sure. If you don't fall once in awhile, you'll never learn to toughen up." the bandit told her " Hell when I was younger, if it wasn't my sisters trippin' me, I was falling over the firewood or something. Even older people get hurt. See?" he showed her a scar on the back of his arm " I got that from a fight not too long ago. It's something that you can't really help."

Rosie looked at him thoughtfully for a second, then said slowly "So… even grown-ups get hurt?" 

Tasuki nodded. "All the time."

"And that's okay." she mused "Hmm. It makes more sense that way."

"Who's the moron that said it wasn't okay to get hurt anyway?" Tasuki asked again.

"Just someone." Rosie said evasively. "I'm not s'posed to tell people."

"Alright, you don't have to tell if you don't want to." the bandit said, getting to his feet with Rosie still in his arms "You wanna come for a walk with me? I think we could both use a little down time."

The angel nodded. "Yeah. We got a lot to think about."

Tasuki smiled a little. "You're smarter than you let on aren't you?"

Rosie grinned at him. "Maybe I am and maybe I'm not." she laughed a little and put her head down on the young man's shoulder. "You're the best Gen-chan. You always know just what to do."

Tasuki blushed and ruffled the girl's fiery hair. "Thanks kid."

They walked like that for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, until they came to a small pavilion on the other side of the pond that was a few meters away from the palace. As soon as Rosie caught sight of it, she wriggled out of Tasuki's arms and flew off towards it yelling "C'mon Gen-chan, this way!" over her shoulder.

The bandit reached the pavilion a few minutes after Rosie and found the girl kneeling on one of the benches, looking out at the water with her back to him.

"What'cha lookin' at, kid?" he asked curiously, going to sit next to her.

"Home." she said softly. Her face got sad and her shoulders fell as she looked at the horizon, seeming to become even smaller than she already was.

"We'll get you home." Tasuki reassured the angel "Somehow, we'll get you back where you belong."

The tiny girl turned and climbed into his lap. "Domo Arigato, Gen-chan." she said, leaning back onto his chest. She closed her eyes and curled up into a ball. 

Tasuki let her sleep, glad for a break. _I never thought kids were so hard to take care of _ he thought, closing his eyes for a second.

When the bandit opened his eyes again, the sun was a few hours away from setting. He looked down at Rosie and saw that she was still sound asleep, so he carefully picked her up and brought her to his room.  He lightly set her down in his bed and pulled the covers up, under her chin. He looked down at her tiny form and smiled a little at how peaceful she looked. On a sudden impulse, he bent and kissed her on the temple careful not to brush against her bandaged cheek. The girl smiled and pulled her wings closer around herself in her sleep.

The bandit quietly backed out of the room, closing the door gently behind him. As he backed away, Tasuki smashed right into someone who had come up behind him while he wasn't paying attention. The fiery seishi gave a strangled yelp, trying to keep his voice down so as to not wake the sleeping child in his room, whirled and found himself face to face with a pair of wide, annoyed grey eyes. 

"You wanna watch where you're going, Fang-boy!" Tamahome yelled in irritation.

"Shh!!!! Keep it down you asshole!" the bandit hissed "If you wake her up…"

"Wake _who_ up?" the other demanded "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Didn't Chiri' tell you? A five-year-old angel sorta crash-landed on me this morning and now I have to look after her." Tasuki explained in a whisper "She just fell asleep not long ago so either keep your damn voice down or go annoy someone else!"

"Sor-ry! Geeze calm down." Tamahome said, his voice lowered to prevent a fight from breaking out "I just wanted to ask if you'd seen Miaka around. I wanted to talk to her."

"Nope. Not recently anyways." Tasuki told him, shrugging his shoulders. 

"Damn. Oh well, guess I'll go ask Chiri' or something. See ya later." the teal-haired seishi waved and started off in the direction of the pond.

Tasuki waved and headed back towards the forest. For some reason he was growing very attached to this small angel. Maybe it was because she seemed to look up to him or maybe because she was so tiny and needed him to take care of her… well whatever it was the bandit decided he would keep her safe no matter what.

************** well there's chapter six! A little strange and really, really late in coming out but it's here! Here's a glossary for the Japanese stuff:

Domo Arigato means thank you very much.

So that's it! See you all next chapter!

~Tenshi K.~                         ***************************************

!! 


	7. Chichiri To The Rescue No Da!

A/N:  Well here it is folks! Ch 7! As usual I don't own Fushigi Yuugi but do own Rosie. And on to the chappy…

Rosie slowly opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by darkness. Her eyes widened in fear and she hid her head under the covers, trembling.

"Gen-chan?" she called softly "Where are you? It's dark in here."

When no one answered the tiny angel drew her knees to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut. She whimpered and pulled the covers closer around herself, tears starting to gather in her blue eyes. 

After a few minutes she heard footsteps outside her door followed by a familiar voice saying, "Well, if you see them, tell them to come find me, no da. I want to see how Tasuki's holding up."

"Will do, Chichiri." answered a second voice that Rosie didn't recognize.

 An idea struck the girl and she gathered all her courage. Rosie threw off the covers and made a dash for the door yelling "Wait! Don't disappear mister!"

Halfway to the door she tripped over a chair and went skidding across the floor for a good six inches. "Oww!! Damnit!" she cried, starting to panic. "Wait!"

The door opened and Chichiri stuck his head inside. "Someone call me, no da?" he asked in confusion.

"Yeah, me!" Rosie said, hurriedly picking herself up and running to Chichiri "Don't go away! Please!" she pleaded wrapping her arms around his legs "It's dark in there!"  She pressed her face into his knees, whimpering softly.

The monk looked down at the tiny angel clinging to his knees, totally bewildered.

"Don't worry, no da. I'm not going anywhere." he reassured her "What happened, no da?"

"I nunonifigamint." Rosie said, her voice muffled by Chichiri's pants.

"Wait a second, no da. I didn't understand a thing you said, no da." Chichiri said, picking her up and holding her so that her mouth wasn't covered anymore "Now what happened?"

"I dunno." the girl stammered as the tears began to fall "I just felled asleep an' then when I waked up again I was in the dark!" She flung her arms around the magician's neck and sobbed into his kesa. "I don't like the dark!" she wailed tightening her hold on the monk.

"It's alright no da." Chichiri said soothingly, gently rubbing the angel's back. "Nothing's going to hurt you. Shhh…it's okay."

The girl clung to the monk crying softly as he comforted her. Finally she stopped crying and Chichiri set her down.

"Better?" he asked kindly.

Rosie nodded. "Arigato, mister Kitsune." she said, giving him her best little girl smile.

"Mister Kitsune no da?" Chichiri laughed.

"Yeah. On account of you look like a kitsune!" Rosie cried.

" Thanks… I think." the magician said a little confusedly " Call me Chichiri no da. It's easier to pronounce."

 "You're cool." Rosie giggled. "Cool and real nice."

Chichiri smiled at the girl. "D'you want to help me find Tasuki no da?" he asked.

"Yeah! Let's go find Gen-chan!" Rosie exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement. "This way!" With that the girl took off, rounding a corner fast as lightning.  

"Wait up, no da!" Chichiri called after her.

"You _hurry_ up!" Rosie replied, her voice full of mischief.

Chichiri ran after her and caught the angel by the backs of her wings as gently as he could.

"Hey! No fair!" the girl pouted, trying to wriggle away from Chichiri "Leggo my wings!"

"I'm sorry I had to do this Rosie." the monk apologized " But if I lost you, I could never forgive myself no da."

The tiny angel stopped struggling, suddenly serious, and Chichiri loosened his grip on her feathery wings. "Wow. Nobody ever said that to me before…" She did her best to try and face the monk but his hold on her wings made it nearly impossible.

"It's okay." She told the other " I won't run. You can let go now."

"Okay… but if you run off again I warn you that I might have to freeze you, no da." Chichiri warned releasing her wings.

"I won't run." the angel repeated, turning to face Chichiri. Her small face was serious and completely open. She looked up at him for a second, blue eyes wide and searching. Her brow creased in confusion and she tugged on his kesa, signaling that the monk kneel down. The mage knelt down in front of her and gave Rosie a questioning look. The girl made no move to explain herself, reaching a tiny hand towards Chichiri's face. Carefully, the angel passed her hand over the young man's cheek. Her brow furrowed even more and she reached out her other hand, passed her hand over his other cheek, and took off his mask. Chichiri gasped and quickly turned so that his left profile was hidden.

"No. Don't do that." Rosie said softly, finally speaking. She gently turned the monk's face so that she could see both eyes. Chichiri's eye widened in surprise, he definitely hadn't been expecting this little development. 

"You're beautiful." she breathed, passing her hand over the magician's scarred left eye.

"Y-you don't think I'm scary?" he asked tentatively.

 Rosie shook her head. "Nuh-uh. You could never be scary."

The angel held out his mask. "This's yours." she said simply.

The mage looked disbelievingly at the tiny girl in front of him. He understood that Rosie was only five and didn't know any better, but he couldn't help but feel a little upset that she'd just taken his mask off like that. He couldn't believe that the girl didn't seem to be bothered in the least by his disfigured face, what was more she'd actually seen his mask! Nobody ever saw his mask! It was enchanted to look like it was his real face! 

"It's alright." Rosie assured him "I just had to see something. You can have your face back now." The girl held out his mask again and Chichiri took it from her and put it back on.

"How did you know?" he asked in amazement " This is the first time in a long time someone has realized I wear a mask."

"I couldn't see your eyes." explained Rosie " I needed to see if you were lying or not."

"Why would I lie to you?"  the young man asked gently.

"I dunno… I guess I'm just not used to people bein' nice to me so I always get suspicious." the girl shrugged, looking down and tracing a design on the wooden floor with her foot.

"Well you won't have to worry around here, no da." Chichiri reassured her. He gave the girl an encouraging smile and pulled her into his arms. "Around here, people are honest and I can almost guarantee that there's no one within twenty-five leagues of here who would ever try and hurt you deliberately."

"Really?" the angel asked hopefully "You mean it?"

Chichiri nodded. "I promise."

Rosie gave the monk her best smile and took his hand. "So where to?" she asked, eyes full of trust and respect.

The other stared for a second then shook his head and got to his feet. "Towards the forest, no da." he answered "I can feel Tasuki's ki coming from that direction, no da."

*******************A/N: well there it is guys chapter seven at last! Sorry it took so long but I'm having a sever case of writer's block. Anyways here's the usual glossary of foreign languages:

Kitsune means fox.

Arigato means 'thank you' and that's it.

See you next chapter.

            ~Tenshi Kitsune~      *****************************  


	8. Making Friends And Messing Up

A/N: well here it is guys (and girls and those in between too of course ^-^)! Chapter eight at last. As usual Fushigi Yuugi isn't mine but Rosie is. And on to the chapter…

As Rosie and Chichiri made their way towards the forest, the monk turned and looked down at the tiny child walking calmly beside him. " I have a question, no da." he said.

"Yeah? What?" Rosie asked, looking up at Chichiri with wide blue eyes.

"Why so good all of a sudden, no da?" asked the mage.

The angel shrugged. " I dunno…" she said shyly, cheeks going pink. "I guess I just feel like bein' good."

"Oh. I think I understand, no da. " said Chichiri, as an idea suddenly struck him. " It's because I told you I care, isn't it."

Rosie nodded, a slight smile playing about her lips. "I guess I figure if you're gonna be nice to me I might as well say 'thanks'." She put one hand behind her back and a second later brought it back out holding a tiny silvery-blue flower. The girl held it up to the monk. " For you." she said simply.

"Where did that come from, no da?" Chichiri asked curiously, taking the small blossom from Rosie.

"Magic." she told him with an impish grin.

Chichiri laughed and swept the angel up into his arms again. "You, my dear child, are really something else. Did you know that, no da?"

Rosie giggled and kissed the monk on the cheek. The young man blushed bright red and ruffled Rosie's fiery hair.

By now they'd reached the edge of the woods and Rosie put a hand up to her eyes, squinting at a figure in the distance. "Hey!" she cried tugging on Chichiri's sleeve "isn't that Gen-chan?"

Chichiri peered into the distance. "I think so," he said slowly "Yup. That's Tasuki no da." he affirmed as familiar fire-red hair came into sharper focus.

"Can I…" Rosie started, pointing excitedly as the figure of the bandit got closer and closer.

"Sure. Go ahead." Chichiri laughed, throwing the angel into the air "Just don't kill him!" the monk called as the girl streaked towards Tasuki.

"I'll try!" came the teasing reply.

Tasuki, meanwhile, had just walked out of the woods and was totally unaware of the winged fury that was about to crash into him.

"Hey! Heads up Gen-chan!" yelled a familiar voice.

Tasuki looked up in time to have Rosie fly into his arms, almost knocking him over.

"Hey, kid." he laughed "Where'd you come from?"

"Over there." the angel replied pointing at Chichiri, who was a little ways away from where they stood. Her face turned accusing "Why'd you leave me all alone in the dark?" she demanded, eyes filled with hurt.

"You were asleep!" Tasuki cried indignantly " What the hell do you want me to do? Watch you sleep?"

"You at least coulda checked on me once in awhile!" Rosie shot back crossing her arms in front of herself. 

"How'm I supposed to know these things?" the fiery seishi asked in annoyance "I'm a bandit not a goddamn daycare center!"

"Still." the girl insisted stubbornly.

Chichiri, who had come up behind the pair a few minutes earlier, had been watching this and finally spoke up. "Don't be mad at Tasuki, no da," he said, coming to his star brother's defense " He's never had to take care of a child before, so he doesn't know how, no da."

Rosie considered this for a minute and slowly uncrossed her arms, her face changing from offended to thoughtful. She nodded shortly and looked up at Tasuki gravely. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be a brat." she apologized.   

"Yeah, well I guess I could have been a little nicer about leavin' you all alone." the bandit admitted. 

Rosie beamed at him and threw her arms around his neck. The young man's eyes widened in surprise, then softened as he returned her hug. Chichiri chuckled at the sight of Tasuki being nice to a girl.

"What's so funny?" demanded Tasuki, hastily putting Rosie down and crossing his arms indignantly. 

"Nothing, no da." the mage said innocently. "Oh, and before I forget, we need to figure out what to do with Rosie, no da. We have to find a way to contact her parents."

"No! I don't wanna go home yet!" Rosie interrupted. "I wanna stay here with you guys." She looked up at Tasuki and Chichiri, her face pleading, blue eyes wide. "Please?"

"You have to go home, Rosie." Chichiri told her gently. "We can't keep you here, your parents would worry, no da. Besides don't you miss your mommy?"

"Yeah…" the girl admitted "Only I wanna play some more…I like it here and I don't wanna leave now!"

"Who says you gotta leave now?" Tasuki spoke up "The way I see it we're stuck with ya for at least a few more hours! Maybe even 'till tomorrow!"

"Really?" Rosie asked eagerly "'Till tomorrow?"

Tasuki nodded. "Maybe. Now go play somewhere. We got stuff to talk about."

Rosie nodded. "'Kay! See you later then." And she took off towards the woods.

"For someone who claims not to know anything about child care, you do alright, no da." Chichiri said, turning to Tasuki.

"Yeah… well, I guess I know a little about it…" the bandit answered, cheeks a bit red. He turned serious "What are we gonna do about her Chiri'? We can't take care of her right. We gotta get her home."

"I know, no da..." The monk frowned "Maybe if I traced her ki back along her flight path I could find her parents that way, no da."

"That could work." Tasuki said slowly "Or else we can always just ask her where she lives then send a message there."

"Maybe…" 

Chichiri started to reply but Rosie came running up and tugged on his kesa. He looked down at her. "Yes, no da. Can we help you?"

Rosie giggled. "Yup. Can I borrow this?" she asked holding up the corner of his cloak she had in her hand. "I need a parachute."

"Sure, no da." the monk said, taking off the cloak and handing it to Rosie.

"Thankies!" she said happily, taking off into the woods again.

Chichiri turned back to Tasuki. The flame haired young man just stared. "Did she just say 'parachute'?" he asked at length.

"Ye-ss…Why?" the mage said apprehensively. Suddenly the full force of the statement hit him. "Oh my dear gods! After her!" he cried taking off after Rosie, Tasuki close on his heels.

"Rosie!" Chichiri called, skirting a tree and parting bushes.

"Kid! Get over here! This's no time for hide n' seek!" echoed Tasuki, moving aside yet more underbrush.  

The pair were just pulling apart yet another patch of bushes when they saw a dark form crumpled in a shadowy patch under an ash tree. As they drew nearer, they could make out white crescents on the form. 

"Rosie!" Tasuki cried in alarm, running to the girl's side. He pulled the cloak off her and gently turned the small angel over, noting with a sinking feeling that she was barely moving. He put his cheek near her mouth and heaved a sigh of relief as he felt her soft breath on his skin. 

"Is she alright, no da?" Chichiri asked anxiously, coming to kneel down next to Tasuki.

"Well, she seems okay." Tasuki told him, carefully gathering the angel into his arms. "She's out cold, but still breathing. We gotta get her inside though, and fast!"

Chichiri nodded and picking up his kesa, threw it over them. They appeared moments later in Chichiri's room.

"Here, leave Rosie with me, no da." Chichiri instructed, "I'll take care of her. You go and get Mitsukake. Alright?"

Reluctantly, the bandit agreed. He handed the girl to Chichiri, and the monk was about to lay Rosie down on his bed when she stirred.

"No, don't put me down." she whimpered, clinging to Chichiri's kesa.

"Rosie! You're awake!" exclaimed the mage.

"You okay?" Tasuki asked worriedly.

"No. M'not okay." the angel sobbed "M-my head hurts an' there's stars that shouldn't be there an' I think my wing's broken…an' m'scared…an'…an'" The tiny girl dissolved into tears tightening her grip on Chichiri.

"Aww…poor kid." Tasuki said sympathetically "C'mon now, don't cry." he soothed, gently taking her from Chichiri. "It's alright. We're gonna make it all better, 'kay?" the bandit whispered, rubbing the girl's back reassuringly. 

The angel clung to Tasuki as if her life depended on it, face buried in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry!" she sobbed, voice muffled by Tasuki's shirt "I'm sorry I jumped out of the tree! I promise I learned my lesson!" The girl cringed, as if expecting to be hit, but Tasuki just held her tighter saying "It's okay. You're safe now, Gen-chan's gotcha'."  He stroked her hair and lightly kissed the top of her head. "It's okay. You're safe, nobody's gonna hurt you." he repeated softly.

Chichiri watched this curious little scene in amazement as Tasuki held the crying little girl and comforted her. He looked on in astonishment as each time Rosie drew back the bandit correctly interpreted her fear, not just of being told off, but of being hit. Each gentle yet firm hug and every whispered word showed the magician just how much Tasuki had come to care for this small child, and their attachment to each other awed the monk and touched him deeply.

_It's uncanny._he thought _How much she trusts him after only half a day and how much he cares for her…Almost as if they shared something only they could feel…"_

The monk shook his head to bring himself back to the present. He had to get Mitsukake here seeing as Tasuki was clearly taking care of Rosie and not about to leave her. He held up his left hand parallel to his face with his middle finger, index finger and thumb held up, his pinkie and ring finger folded over and closed his eyes in concentration. He sent a silent message to Suzaku's healer to come to his room because Rosie was hurt badly. The doctor replied that he would be there as soon as he could and Chichiri opened his eyes again, breaking the telepathic link.

"Did you just call Mits?" asked Tasuki turning to Chichiri.

The monk nodded. "He's on his way, no da."     

 "Hear that kid?"  Tasuki told the still crying girl in his arms "Help's on the way and soon it won't hurt anymore."

Rosie nodded rubbing her eyes with her fists. 

"You alright?" the bandit asked worriedly "What's wrong now?" He put a hand under the girl's chin and lifted her face, looking into her blue eyes.

"M'okay…" mumbled Rosie, laying her head down on Tasuki's shoulder again "Just tired and my wing really hurts."

"Don't worry, we'll fix that real soon." whispered Tasuki, gently laying the girl down on the bed "Just go to sleep and when you wake up you'll be all better…"

The bandit watched the tiny angel for a few minutes, his face a mixture of contemplation and sympathy. " Poor little kid." he said quietly "Makes you kinda sad, seeing someone so tiny and innocent hurt as bad as she is…"

"It does, doesn't it?" Chichiri replied, looking down at Rosie. "But on the other hand, it warms the heart to see such tenderness and compassion being given to one who needs it."

Tasuki blushed as red as his hair and smiled wryly. "I guess she isn't so bad after all…" he admitted. 

A/n: well here it is chapter 8! It's a little weird but I liked it…I mean it sounded good in my head(which is sugar high and weird-.-). What did you think? Tell me! Anyways s'all there is for now so see you next chapter.  


	9. Starlit Advice

A/N: Well it's chapter nine and ppl still seem to like this ficcy so here we go again! Stupid disclaimer I always have to put up: Fushigi Yuugi isn't mine and Rosie is, so hands offa her! To the chappy….

Chichiri and Tasuki sat by Rosie's bedside waiting for Mitsukake to arrive.  Tasuki looked over at Rosie for the sixth time in two minutes and sighed in frustration.

"Damnit! What's taking Mits so long!" he burst out. "He shoulda been here by now!"

"Calm down, no da." Chichiri said soothingly "He'll be here. He probably just went to get some medical supplies in his clinic, no da."

Tasuki looked over at Rosie again and nodded.

"She'll be okay." Chichiri said simply, putting a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder.

"I hope so." Tasuki whispered softly.

A few minutes after Chichiri and Tasuki's conversation, there came a knock at the door. Tasuki bolted from his chair and pulled the door opened to reveal Mitsukake at last.

"Mits!" the bandit exclaimed "About time!"

"Sorry, I was at the other end of the palace." the healer replied breathlessly. "Where's Rosie?"

"Over here, no da." Chichiri piped up. He got up, letting Mitsukake have his place so the tall doctor could look over the injured angel.

Mitsukake examined Rosie and nodded shortly. "I can heal her," he told Tasuki, who was watching nervously from a little ways away. "She'll be fine."

The bandit let out a sigh of relief as Mitsukake put his left hand over Rosie's sleeping form and let the green healing spheres fall gently over her for a minute. The tall healer closed his hand and gently pulled the blankets to Rosie's chin. 

"Just let her sleep," he instructed "She should be alright now, but check her wing when she wakes up. I've never had to heal an angel before so I'm not quite sure if my powers will work on her." 

Tasuki nodded and Mitsukake turned to leave. "Hey Mits…" Tasuki called after him.

The healer turned. 

"Thanks."

Mitsukake smiled at him. "Anything to help a friend." he said softly as he turned on his heel and left.

"What a guy, huh 'Chiri?" Tasuki asked turning to the monk.

Chichiri nodded. "Yup, Mitsukake is one of a kind, no da." he said softly. He looked down at Rosie's sleeping form.  "Let's go, no da." the magician whispered "Give her some peace."

Tasuki nodded and followed Chichiri out the door, carefully leaving the door opened so that the light fell over Rosie. 

Chichiri raised an eyebrow at him.

"So she doesn't get scared if she wakes up when we're not around." the bandit explained.

The monk nodded and the two set off down the hall.

As Rosie's eyes started to open, the sun was just about to set turning the sky a deep pinkish-red, sending shafts of golden red light playing over the girl's face. The small angel opened her eyes and blinked a few times. She sat up, passing a hand over her eyes and reached behind herself to feel her wing.

"It's all better…" she murmured softly. "I wonder who did that…" 

She slid herself off the bed and looked around. "Gen-chan left me all alone again!"  she cried, realizing that she was alone in the room. The girl ran out of the room and down the hall. As she turned a corner, she caught sight of a lone figure standing at the railing, staring out at the palace grounds. Rosie took a step closer and saw that the figure was a beautiful woman. 

Carefully the angel made her way forward, until she was right next to the woman. She looked up and saw the most beautiful golden eyes she'd ever seen. She gasped in awe and the woman started.

"What? Who's there?" the golden-eyed lady demanded in a velvety voice. 

 "I-I'm sorry!" Rosie stammered, taking a step backwards "I didn't mean to scare you!"

The young woman looked down at her. "You're an angel…" she said in disbelief.

 Rosie nodded. "My name's Rosie an' I fell out of the sky this morning. Gen-chan was taking care of me but he disappeared again an'…an'…you're real pretty, did you know that?" the girl finished, staring wide eyed at the golden-eyed woman before her.

The maiden put a hand to her cheek. "Yes, I know. It's nice of you to notice though." 

"What's you're name, pretty lady?" Rosie asked.

The golden-eyed woman laughed. "I'm not a woman, though I'm told that often."

"You sure?" the angel questioned. " 'Cause you look just like a lady."

"Quite sure." the other replied.

 Rosie nodded. "You never answered me, what's your name?" she repeated 

"I am Hotohori, emperor of   Konan and also one of the Shichiseishi of Suzaku." he told Rosie, standing up a bit straighter.

"Wow…a real emperor! Cool." the tiny angel breathed. She stared up at Hotohori for a minute, and then climbed up onto the railing. "Can I watch the sunset with you?" she asked in a softer tone.

Hotohori nodded, settling his arms back onto the rail. "If you want to."

The two stayed side by side for a bit, watching the sun sink below the horizon sending brilliant streaks of gold, red, and pink shooting across the surface of the pond and tinting the grass with blue. Hotohori sighed and his shoulders fell forwards a little. 

"What's wrong?" the girl asked gently. "You look sad."

Hotohori sighed again. "Nothing. I'm alright…" He looked off into the sunset again and Rosie saw the loneliness and sadness reflected in the golden eyes.

"Don't worry, you're not alone anymore." she said reassuringly.

The young man turned and looked at her. "Wh-what?" he stammered, surprised that Rosie could tell what he was thinking.

"It's alright." the angel tried again "It'll all be right again soon, I promise. I know it feels like there's no one in the world who loves you, but I promise, there is."

"How do you know what I'm feeling right now?" the emperor said in disbelief "Are you reading my mind?"

Rosie giggled. "Nah, I dunno how to read minds." She grew sober. "I just know that look you have right now. I seen it lots back home. Like you got the biggest, heaviest boulder in the world on your back and everyone needs you but you think you're not big enough to help them no more…" She paused and looked up at Hotohori, who nodded. "Just 'member, no matter what happens to ya, there's always someone who loves you, always someone willin' to do whatever it takes to help you and that you're not all alone." She looked up at him, compassion, and honesty written in her blue eyes. Hotohori gave Rosie a long, steady look. "You know, I do believe that's the best advice I've received in a long time." he said at length. "How did you get to be so wise at such a young age?"

"Well, see I'm a angel and I get to see everything 'cause I'll never die. I never get older either so I'm a whole lot smarter than your average five-year-old." the girl explained calmly.

The young man standing beside her nodded. "It must be nice to live forever…no pressure because you have all the time in the world to get things done, no one constantly bothering you…just peace and quiet. "

"Trust me, living forever's not as fun as it sounds." the small girl confided "See, when you get up there," she pointed to the now pitch black sky, "You get assigned a guardian. You're stuck with them forever an' ever. Even if they're real, real mean."

"I see. That would be very unpleasant if you happened to get an uncaring guardian, wouldn't it?"  mused the emperor.

Rosie nodded. Yup. I gotta go find Gen-chan 'cause it's dark an' he probably thinks I ran away again, but I have one last question for you."

"What is it?" 

"If I gave you a hug, would you hit me?" the angel asked tentatively.

"Of course not! I'd never hit a child!" Hotohori exclaimed.

"Good." With that Rosie hopped off the rail, threw her arms around the young man and took off laughing down the hallway, leaving a slightly pink Hotohori staring after her.

********************** here it is y'know! Chapter nine. Slight note here, I'm not so good at writing Hotohori parts so please, don't shoot me if I messed his character up! Tell me whatcha think as usual and see you next chappy. 

~Tenshi Kitsune~                *********


	10. Stories And Kesas

A/n: well here it is folks! I've finally hit the double digits in this ficcy! Go me ^-^! Yes, excuse my hyperactive ramblings…Tenshi has had too much pocky today. Okay on to the actual story. I no own Fushigi Yuugi but Rosie's all mine y'know. To the real chappy, y'know…

Rosie streaked down the hallways, her blue eyes scanning around her for either gravity-defying azure bangs or the mass of fiery locks that belonged to her two missing babysitters. Suddenly the small angel smashed headlong into something solid, knocking both herself and the other person backwards. A shower of scrolls rained down on Rosie's head and a high pitched but decidedly male voice cried out in surprise as he landed on the hard wood floor.

"Aw damn! I did it again!" Rosie cried in dismay, leaping to her feet and rushing to help the boy up. The boy was about two feet taller than Rosie with light brown hair tied on top of his head and large, intelligent brown eyes. He looked to be about thirteen. "You okay? I'm sorry!" the angel apologized as she darted around picking up the fallen scrolls.  

"Yes, I'm alright." the young boy replied "I hope I didn't injure you when I walked into you."

"Forget it, it was my fault anyways." Rosie told the other "I was runnin' an' not watching where I was goin'."

"Oh no, I must insist that the blame is most probably mine. You see I was reading a very interesting scroll on the movements of the constellations and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." the boy protested.

"You were reading?" Rosie asked in amazement. "Can I hear you read? Onegai?"

"Well, sure if you really want to…" the young boy replied, "Ano…I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are…"

"Oh yeah!" the girl exclaimed, hitting her forehead with an open palm "I'm Rosie an' I'm a angel." she told him "Who're you?"

"I am Chiriko of the Suzaku Shichiseishi." the boy answered amiably. "I'm very pleased to meet you, although I must admit I've never met an angel before…"

Rosie giggled. "Everyone says that. I guess angels are kinda rare around here. Anyways, d'you still wanna read to me?" the girl asked eagerly. The tiny angel started hopping up and down, pleading with Chiriko to read to her. "I even picked up your scrolls for ya. Pleeeease? With sugar an' everything on top?" 

 "O-of course." the boy replied, "It would be a pleasure."

Rosie's eyes lit up and she stopped jumping. "Really? You're the best!" she seized Chiriko's hand and looked up at him. "Where to mister reader man?"

Chiriko laughed. "You're quite the reading enthusiast I see. Well I was going to the library, but I think we should go to my room instead. It's closer."

With that the two set off hand in hand towards Chiriko's room, talking animatedly about everything from Rosie's world to why Chiriko was so smart. Finally they reached the young genius's room and settled themselves on the bed. Rosie was sitting next to Chiriko, who was reading from a yellowed old scroll about the moon's phases in relation with the position of Venus and Saturn in their respective celestial positions.

Meanwhile, Tasuki and Chichiri had gone back to check on Rosie to find that the angel was nowhere to be found and had been looking for her for the past hour.

"I knew we shouldn't have left her alone!" Tasuki muttered sourly. "Now she's run off again!"

"Don't worry, no da." Chichiri said in a placating manner. "She probably ran into another seishi by now, no da. I'm sure she's fine."

"Yeah, well, fine or not I'm still gonna kill that kid when I find her!" the bandit growled in irritation. "Doesn't she know we're worried about her?"

"I'm sure she does, no da." the mage replied "She probably woke up while we were still gone and got scared so she ran out to look for us, no da." 

Tasuki frowned in concern. "Think so? Then we really gotta hurry up and find her! You go that way I'll go check the grounds, that way we cover more ground in less time." he said as he started off in the direction of the Imperial forest.

"Be careful, no da!" Chichiri called after him. The monk shook his head in amusement. _That's Tasuki for you, always the impulsive one, no da. _He laughed softly as he kept going down the hallway to where the seishi's chambers were . _But that's why we love him, no da._

The warrior-mage silently made his way down the hall and found Hotohori, still leaning on the rail, watching the stars with a curious half-smile on his face. 

"Ano…Sorry to bother you, Heika, but you haven't by any chance seen an angel come by here have you, no da?" Chichiri asked, standing a few steps away from the young emperor. 

"W-what? An angel? Oh, yes I have." Hotohori replied, shaking his head to clear it. "She was watching the stars with me until the ninth chime, then she ran off that way." He pointed to his left.

Chichiri bowed respectfully. "Arigato, Heika."

Hotohori nodded and Chichiri continued down the corridor. The monk turned a corner and saw light spilling out from under Chiriko's door.

"That's odd," he murmured as he got closer "Chiriko isn't usually in his room at this hour…"

The mage gently knocked on the half-opened door. When no response came, he carefully pushed the door opened a little more and found not only Chiriko, but Rosie as well.  

The two were leaning on one another, fast asleep, with an open scroll across their laps. Chichiri smiled and quietly entered the room. Taking Rosie into his arms, he gently lowered Chiriko to the bed with his free hand and pulled the covers over his youngest brother. The monk blew out the candle on the bedside table and tiptoed back out of the room, closing the door behind him. He moved away from the door and looped the thumb of his spare hand through his prayer beads, sending a silent message to Tasuki that he'd found Rosie. Tasuki told him to meet him at his own room and Chichiri agreed. He unhooked his thumb from the beads, breaking the link, and looked down at the angel sleeping peacefully in his arms. Her fiery hair, made lighter in the darkness gently framed the girl's small face and played across her downy wings, which were folded lightly behind her. She shivered and Chichiri unclasped his kesa and wrapped it around her shoulders.  

"You'd never know she was such a handful if you saw her like this, no da." Chichiri said softly to himself as he made his way to Tasuki's room.  

A/n: well it ends here for now because I have too much sugar in me and Easter chocolate is calling my name. So tell me what cha' thought an' the dictionary's right below.

Onegai- please 

Arigato- Thank You 

Heika- Your highness 

see ya next chappy y'know!

~Tenshi Kitsune~


	11. Darkness And Kindness

A/N: well it's another chapter and for once I haven't got anything to say. Well, nothing but I don't own Fushigi Yuugi and Rosie's mine. To the chapter then…

Tasuki waited impatiently by the door of his room, squinting into the darkness every few minutes looking for any sign of Chichiri and Rosie. Finally after ten long minutes he caught sight of a familiar silhouette coming down the hallway.

" 'Chiri?" the bandit called tentatively. 

Chichiri nodded as he stepped out of the shadows and came up to Tasuki. "Yup, it's me no da, and I have Rosie with me too."

"Is she okay? Why isn't she moving? What happened? Why'd ya take so long to get here?" the bandit asked all in a rush.

"Shh, na no da. Don't be so loud." Chichiri said softly. "Rosie's asleep, that's what took me so long. I didn't want to wake her, no da."

"Well, I guess that's a good reason. So where'd ya find her anyways?" Tasuki asked, his voice just above a whisper.

"She was with Chiriko. He must have been reading to her, because I found them asleep with a scroll between them, no da." the mage told the other.

Tasuki nodded. "So now what do we do with her?"

"We put her to bed, no da." Chichiri told him.

"Really now?" Tasuki said sarcastically "I thought we were just gonna let her sleep in your arms all night. I meant, where do we put her."

Chichiri laughed. "Oh. Well, if you want I can give her my bed, no da. It's the full moon tonight and I have to perform some rituals. By the time I get to bed I won't care where I'm sleeping, no da."

"Are you sure 'bout that?" Tasuki asked, frowning a little. 

"Positive, no da." Chichiri told him.

"What if she wakes up?"  the bandit asked, his brows knitting in concern. "What if she gets scared?"

"I'll take care of her, no da." Chichiri reassured his younger brother.

"But-but what if she-" Tasuki started.

"Don't worry, no da. She'll be fine. Trust me, no da" Chichiri repeated.

"I do…I mean, I know y'wouldn't let anything happen to her it's just…well," the bandit lowered his eyes. "She's already been hurt twice already an' I couldn't forgive myself if something else happened to her, y'know?" 

Chichiri nodded. "I understand, no da. If it'll make you feel better, why don't you take Rosie, no da?"

"You sure 'bout this?" the flame haired young man asked.

Chichiri nodded again. "Sure I'm sure, no da."

Tasuki shot the monk a fanged grin. "Thanks for bein' so cool about this." he said taking Rosie gently out of Chichiri's arms and holding her protectively against his chest.

"No problem, no da. It's no big deal."  Chichiri said with a smile.

"Yeah…well, if you were any of the others I might never hear th' end of this." Tasuki told the other, his cheeks slightly pink. "I mean, seein' as I'm always goin' around sayin' I hate girls…well, y'know." He broke off with a small shrug.

"Don't worry, no da. Your secret's safe with me, na no da." Chichiri assured the bandit. "I have to go start my ceremony now, but if you need anything just call, no da."

Tasuki nodded. "See ya later then."  He turned to leave but Chichiri stopped him.

"Sorry, but I need my kesa back, no da." he said with an apologetic smile. "I lent it to Rosie before, but I need it tonight, no da"

Tasuki nodded and gently tugged the cloak out of Rosie's tiny fists and handed it to Chichiri. "Oyasumi, onii chan." he said softly "Don't fall in th' pond on your way to bed now."

The warrior-mage laughed. "I won't, no da. See you in the morning." With that the monk headed towards the shrine of Suzaku and Tasuki went into his room.

The bandit lay Rosie don on his bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

_She really isn't so bad… _he thought as he got out an extra blanket and spread it out on the floor _I could almost get used to takin' care of her…_

He lay awake for a while longer, but his eyes started to close and soon sleep claimed him.

Three hours later, Tasuki's eyes opened and he stared up into the darkness for a minute before he realized that he was really awake and that soft sobbing noises were coming from somewhere above his head.

_S'weird…_ he thought still half asleep _Who th' hell'd be cryin' in my room at this hour?_

Then he remembered who. "Kid?" he called softly "That you?"

He heard a small gasp and the sobs grew fainter. Sitting up and squinting into the darkness he tried again. "Rosie? You okay?"

The sheets rustled as the angel moved farther away from Tasuki and she whispered a tiny "Yes."

"You sound like you're cryin'." the bandit said gently "What's wrong?"

"M'-m'scared…an' I want my bunny…an' it's too dark in here…" came the muffled reply. "An' now I'm in big trouble too…"

"Why would ya be in trouble?" Tasuki asked in confusion "It's okay t'be scared. Little kids always get scared."

" I'm not s'p-osed t'be scared." the angel protested. " I'm a big girl n-now…I'm not allowed t'be scared n-no more."

Tasuki frowned in the darkness and went to sit on the edge of the angel's bed. "That's not true," he said firmly "Everyone's allowed t'get scared once in awhile, even big guys like me."

"B-but you're a grown-up!" sobbed Rosie "Grown-ups never get scared!"

"Oh yes we do." Tasuki replied "I was scared when you fell outta that tree before, an' when I hit ya with that apple this mornin'…even really brave people like Chiri' get scared sometimes. We all do."

"Yeah, but you're not s'posed t'let it show…then they hit 'cha." Rosie said quietly, moving a little farther away from Tasuki.

"Well, no one's gonna hit you around here." Tasuki assured her "Around here, you can be scared or sad or hurt or happy whenever you wanna be. There's no rules about what you hafta feel."

"Really?" the angel asked softly "Do you mean it?"

"'Course I do. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true." the bandit said, voice soft and reassuring.

"Good. 'Cause I was scared you were gonna hit me." the girl confided, crawling into Tasuki's arms and laying her head down on the young man's chest.

"Never." Tasuki whispered.

Rosie smiled up at him and the pair lapsed into silence for awhile, enjoying the sudden peace that had fallen over them.

"Know what Gen-chan?" Rosie asked sleepily.

"What?" Tasuki answered in a low whisper.

"I like it here. I like it lots…but of everything around here I like you best of all…" the angel said, her voice faint and on the very edge of sleep.

Tasuki smiled and kissed the girl on the top of her head, gently shifting her so that she was cradled in his arms.

The child's eyes started to slip shut and Tasuki felt her small form getting heavier and heavier in his arms. He went to put her back on the bed, but she whimpered and grabbed hold of his tunic. "Please stay…m'scared all alone up here…" 

"Alright." Tasuki whispered, pulling a pillow behind his head and leaning back against the wall for support. 

Once he was sure Rosie was deeply asleep, the bandit shut his eyes and tried to ignore the fact that the wall was _really_ uncomfortable and that his legs and right arm were going numb from having Rosie's weight pressing down on them for the past hour.

A/N: well there it ends because I have an English essay I should be doing but won't until tomorrow. No foreign languages in this chappy so I'll sign off.

Later!

 ~Tenshi K. ~ 


	12. Trust And Friendship Go Hand In Hand

A/N: sorry for the long wait. My computer died and I had to wait to get it fixed…I hate technology sometimes -.-*sigh*. Oh well, onto slightly more interesting things as I'm sure you've all heard enough of my rambling. Disclaimer: Rosie's mine. Fushigi Yuugi ain't. To ch 12….

The sun gently rose on the horizon to spill its golden-pink light over the grounds of the Imperial palace of Konan. The soft rays of light crept slowly over the lawns and found their way into the cracks and knotholes of the buildings. A tiny figure stirred as a particularly adventurous shaft of light made its way up her face to her eyelids. She squeezed her eyes shut and put up a hand to block the offending beam. Finding that her small hand was no match for the sun's light, the angel rolled over onto her stomach…and promptly found herself on a hard wood floor, rubbing her elbow and left wing.

"Owww!" she whimpered, lower lip sticking out in a pout. "Stupid sunbeam…made me fall outta bed an' hurt myself…"

The girl sat up and looked around. For a second, she forgot where she was and her blue eyes went wide with fear. Then she saw a familiar shock of fire-red hair sticking out from beneath the covers above her.

"Oh yeah! I'm in Gen-chan's room." she said aloud. Realizing the bandit was still asleep, Rosie clamped a hand over her mouth and whispered "Shh…" to herself. The girl got to her feet and tiptoed to the door. A floorboard squeaked under her bare feet and she jumped. The angel opened her wings and gently lowered herself to the floor, being careful to make as little noise as possible. She shot a nervous glance over her shoulder, and to her relief Tasuki was still sound asleep.

"Good." she whispered as she finally opened the door and stepped outside. "I made it."

She started to tiptoe away from the door when suddenly a tall, slender figure appeared right in front of her. The angel let out a yelp of surprise and jumped backwards. The girl gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth, looking up to see who had frightened her. She let out a sigh of relief as she found nothing more threatening than Chichiri's masked face looking down at her, a small smile playing about the monk's lips.

"Good morning, na no da." he said cheerfully "Or should I say afternoon. It's almost noon, no da. We were getting worried about you two so I came to check on you guys, no da. Where's Tasuki?"

"Shh!" whispered Rosie "Be quiet! Gen-chan's still sleeping and if you wake him up I'll be mad at you!"

Chichiri nodded, trying to hide an amused grin. "Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk, no da." the monk said as quietly as he could. "That way we won't have to whisper."

Rosie nodded and followed the mage out onto the grounds and towards the edge of the pond. 

"Is it okay to talk here?" Chichiri asked the small angel walking beside him.

"Yeah, just don't yell or be too loud." Rosie told him seriously.

"I won't, no da." the monk assured her as they walked around the pond "So, why are you guys so tired, no da? Did something happen?"

"No, it's just I kept wakin' up 'cause I was scared. I didn't have my bunny, so I kept havin' bad dreams…Gen-chan stayed up with me an' made me feel better." the girl explained "That's why he's so tired."  She pulled a leaf off a nearby bush and added in a low growl "An' the first person t'wake him up before he wants to get up gets a faceful of feathers from me!" 

The mage tried not to laugh, but a small snicker escaped him and Rosie looked up sharply.

"Are you laughin' at me?" she demanded.

Chichiri arranged his face into a look of shocked innocence. "Would I do that, no da?"

"Maybe you would an' maybe you wouldn't." Rosie said sourly, stopping in her tracks "How'm I s'posed t'know? I just met you yesterday!" The girl crossed her arms over her chest indignantly.

Seeing that Rosie wasn't in the mood to be teased, the mage tried to make amends. "I'm sorry, no da." he apologized "I didn't mean to upset you. After all, you didn't sleep all night. I should have known you'd be a little irritable this morning, no da."

"I am not irritable!" the angel said defiantly "An' I'm not tired! An'…an' I don't wanna walk with you anymore! An'…an'…an' I'm sorry!" The girl suddenly burst into tears and ran to Chichiri, hugging him around the knees and crying. "I'm sorry!" she sobbed, "I'm sorry!"

The mage swept the little girl into his arms and held her close, totally bewildered by her sudden tears. "Why are you crying, no da? What's wrong?"

"I-I'm sad 'cause I hurt your feelings!" the girl said tearfully.

"No you didn't." Chichiri said confusedly "You didn't do anything, so how could you hurt my feelings, no da?"

"I did do something!" the angel whimpered "I yelled at you! All you were doing was bein' nice an' tryin' t'make me laugh an'…an' I went an' yelled at you!" She hid her face in the monk's shoulder, her tears falling faster, and her hands gripping his kesa tightly.

"Is that why you're so upset?" the young man asked "Don't worry, it's okay, no da. You didn't make me fell bad at all. I've had worse than that, no da." He shifted Rosie in his arms so that she was facing him and added with a small smile "I put up with Tasuki, remember?" 

The girl laughed a little and brushed a few tears off her face. "R-really? I didn't do anything?" 

Chichiri nodded. "Really."

The angel still looked uncertain, so Chichiri reached up and took off his mask. Looking into Rosie's tear-filled blue eyes, he said " I mean it. If you did anything wrong, I'd tell you. I promise I'd never lie to you. Neither would Tasuki, or anyone here. I know it's hard to trust someone you barely know, but you have to believe me. You can trust us."

Rosie saw the honesty shining in Chichiri's mahogany eye and nodded. "I know I can trust you, only it's hard." she said softly, lowering her gaze to the monk's kesa "No one ever gave me a reason to trust them and now, two people that I barely know give me every reason. It's been so long since I found people I could trust that I forgot how… I guess, I figure everyone's like Ai-um like someone I know…" the angel looked up at Chichiri to see if he'd picked up on her mistake, but the monk showed no sign of having noticed so she continued  " Sometimes I think you're like her. I think that you only pretend to be nice so I'll do what you want and then, when you don't need me no more, you'll leave me all alone… You're not though. You're really different… you don't pretend…you're gentle and caring, but most of all you're my friend. The one who makes me feel better and keeps me safe." The girl suddenly smiled and threw her arms around Chichiri's neck. "You're the best person I ever met! Well…next to Gen-chan, but still the best."  

The mage put a hand behind the angel's head and gave her a light kiss. "Thank you." He whispered "For trusting me and letting me be the one who dries your tears. It means a lot to me, especially since I know how hard it is to trust after you've been betrayed…"

The two stayed that way for a long time, just holding each other gently in one another's arms and treasuring the closeness of the moment.

A/N: well there it is folks, ch12. sorry  if it's not as good as usual but my brain went off on holiday and I haven't got it back yet..-.-() *sigh* oh well. No foreign words today and see ya next chapter!

~Tenshi Kitsune~ 

EXTRA A/N: thanks to Flighting dreams for pointing out to me that I'd made Rosie ooc. I thought I had the first time I reread my chapter, but then I looked it over  again and didn't notice before I first posted. anyways, have hopefully fixed it. thanks again, F.D!


	13. Down Time

A/N: well finally decided to take a break from 'my angel' so you guys get an update for Babysitting angels. As usual Fushigi Yuugi is Watase-senpai's creation and Rosie is my lil angel girl. And to the chappy….

The mage and the angel had finally pulled apart and were continuing their walk around the pond when Rosie wriggled out of Chichiri's arms and made a dash for the water's edge. 

"Rosie, wait up, no da!" Chichiri called after her.

"It's okay, I'm only here…" the girl said softly, her voice faraway and full of wonder.

As the monk came up beside her the tiny angel suddenly grabbed his kesa, jumping up and down in excitement and pointing at the water. "Lookit!" she cried in awe, all traces of her former bad mood gone now "A big fish just jumped outta th' water an' caught a dragonfly! That's soo cool!"

The young man beside her laughed and ruffled her fiery hair. "That's the fish that I can never catch, no da," he told Rosie "He's always too fast for me." 

"Y'mean you know how to fish?" the angel exclaimed, admiration shining in her blue eyes. "Teach me? Please, Chiri-san?" She put on her best lost puppy face and looked up at the mage.

"Sure, no da." Chichiri replied, "It'll have to wait for later though. I have to do a few things this morning, no da."

Rosie's face fell. "But I wanna learn now!" she protested, "What d'you gotta do that's so impor'ant anyhow?"

"Well, first I have to help Hotohori and Chiriko map out the best route to Hokkan." the monk said patiently "Then I have to clean up the temple of Suzaku because I left all my things from the moonlight ritual there, and I promised Mitsukake I'd tech him how to make a special tea that energizes the drinker for a short while. After that I really have to try and contact your parents, no da." 

"Guardian." Rosie corrected softly, lowering her eyes to the grass below her feet. 

"I didn't hear you, no da. What did you say?" the monk asked, noticing the way Rosie's eyes had gone soft and cold.

"Guardian." The girl repeated sullenly "She's not my 'kaa-san, she's a guardian."

"I don't understand." Chichiri said, his brow creasing in confusion "If you live with your guardian, where are your parents?" 

"They live here, on the bottom half." the angel explained, her eyes shading from cold to sad " they aren't allowed up there yet, it's not their turn. I gotta stay up there though," she pointed to the pale blue sky on the horizon "an' I watch 'em every day…"

"You must miss them." Chichiri said sympathetically.

Rosie nodded. "Yeah, but s'okay. I'll see 'em real soon I jus' know it!" Her blue eyes sparkled with their usual light once more and she added "'Cause my  'kaa-san always came when I needed her most an' she won't let me down this time either!" She looked up at Chichiri uncertainly "She won't, right? She'll come up one day an' then we'll be together again, right?"

"Of course she will, no da," the monk said, flashing Rosie a reassuring smile "As long as you have faith, she'll come."

"I knew it!" the girl cheered, flying a few feet off the ground and punching her fist into the air. She landed softly and sent Chichiri a questioning glance. "So where to first?" she asked impatiently "T'go see th' emperor and Chiriko? Or to go an' find the man with the kitty? I wanna learn how to fish, so I'm gonna help you do your work an' it'll go faster."

Chichiri laughed at the girl's enthusiasm. "I'm sorry, no da. You're too young to help me. It's going to be long and boring for you to listen to the intricacies of how to properly navigate the passages to get to Hokkan and the temple is no place for a little rogue like you, no da."

"Where'm I s'posed to stay then?" the child demanded "I don't wanna go back to th' room an' watch Gen-chan sleep! That's worse than listening to the interca-intercusto…the in-ter-kin-ma… whatevers of Hokkan!"

The monk looked thoughtfully down at the angel. "What _am_ I going to do with you, no da?" he thought out loud.

Just then a familiar purple-haired seishi came walking along the lawns and Chichiri called out to him. "Nuriko! Come here, no da, I need a favor!"

Nuriko joined them and looked down at Rosie. "Hey Chiri'. Who's the kid?" he asked curiously, studying Rosie's wings with interest.

"I'm Rosie Hiragashi," the angel said, her temper returning as easily as it had gone "Who th' heck're you?"

"My name's Nuriko. I'm one of the shichiseishi of Suzaku." The young man replied, undaunted by Rosie's attitude "Nice to meet you."

"Actually, that's the favor I needed, no da." Chichiri spoke up, sensing that an argument was going to break out soon. "I need you to watch Rosie for a bit while I take care of a few things."

"Sure, why not." the purple-haired seishi shrugged. "I've got nothing else to do anyways."

"No! I don't wanna stay with her!" Rosie shouted "I wanna stay with you, Chiri'-san!"

"Actually, it's 'him'." Nuriko said with a wink. "I just look like a girl."

"See! He lied t'me already! I thought he was a girl and he's not!" Rosie cried indignantly, pointing an accusatory finger at Nuriko. "I don't wanna play with a liar!" 

"Rosie, be nice." Chichiri said firmly.

"Well it's true!" wailed the tiny girl, running to Chichiri and wrapping her arms around his knees "I wanna stay with you!" Her lower lip trembled threateningly as she looked up at the monk. "Please?"

Chichiri gently pried Rosie off his knees and knelt before the girl. "Come on now, it's only for a little while, no da." the monk said reassuringly "You'll have fun with Nuriko, just wait and see, no da."

"But I wanna stay with you!" the girl repeated, her voice getting tearful.

"How's this, no da," the mage said, putting his forehead to the girl's and pulling her into a loose hug  "If you stay here and be a good girl, I'll hurry up with Hotohori and Chiriko and use magic to clean up then I'll come teach you to fish, okay?" 

Rosie smiled a little. "Promise?" she asked, her voice normal now and her eyes searching.

Chichiri nodded. "I swear. I'll go as fast as I can, no da. Is it a deal?"

Rosie nodded, swiping a quick hand over her eyes. "Deal." she said, pulling out of Chichiri's arms and going to stand by Nuriko, who had been watching the exchange in curious silence from a little ways off. 

"Be careful with her, no da." Chichiri warned, turning to Nuriko "She likes to play tricks."

"I can handle her, Chiri'." Nuriko said confidently "After all what's the worst that can happen?"

"You'd be surprised, no da." Chichiri said with a small smile, remembering how Rosie had managed to split her lip, fall out of a tree and generally cause mischief all in the space of a few hours the previous day. "Be good, or no lessons, alright no da" he reminded Rosie.

"Yeah I know. Now hurry up an' get lost." the angel commanded, grinning impishly at the mage. 

Chichiri laughed and shook his head. "Yes ma'am, no da!" he replied, saluting smartly. With that he turned on his heel and headed back towards the palace, leaving Rosie with Nuriko.

A/N: well that's the end of that… for now that is. No funny words to speak of and see ya next chappy! 


	14. Why We Keep Both Eyes On FiveYearOld Ang...

A/N: this one's goin up fast 'cause otherwise I'll forget about it and you guys won't get an update till next may. As usual Rosie's mine and Fushigi Yuugi's Yuu Watase's. Here we go ch14…. 

Once the monk had disappeared around a corner, Nuriko turned to Rosie. "So, what d'you wanna do kiddo?" he asked, flashing a friendly grin at Rosie.

The girl turned her back on Nuriko and glared at the water. "I don't wanna play." she muttered sullenly "I wanna go with Chiri'-san."

"Well, okay. If you're sure you don't want to play, we can both just stand here until Chichiri comes back," the young man said in a casual manner "Makes my job easier."

Rosie's eyes lit up with mischief at these words. "Okay then, we can play."  she informed her babysitter, turning around to face the purple-haired seishi. "TAG!" she cried happily, smacking Nuriko in the arm and taking off  "You're it!"

"Hey!" Nuriko cried, giving chase to the angel "That wasn't fair!"

"Too bad!" Rosie shouted gleefully, spreading her wings and taking flight. She stayed within easy reach and didn't go as fast as she could have, thinking that at least she'd give her new babysitter half a chance to catch her.

"_ What's the worst that can happen_, eh Nuriko?" the purple haired seishi grumbled as he ran after Rosie "What did I get myself into this time…"

Rosie swung around a corner, and Nuriko lost sight of her. "Damnit! She's fast!" he cursed, speeding up so that at least he would have the girl in his line of sight again.

Nuriko was just about to round the corner when Rosie came tearing towards him, a large black cloud hot on her heels. "Run, Mister, run!" she yelled in panic "Bees! An' lots of 'em too!" 

Nuriko was frozen in shock for a second and he stood there watching as the black cloud moved closer and closer to Rosie with each passing minute. "Those aren't bees…" he murmured, his brain finally starting to process again "They're wasps! Rosie! Run faster kid, run faster!" The last part was an urgent shout as the purple-haired seishi ran for it as well.

"I-I can't!" the angel called back in dismay "I can't go no faster an'-OWW!" 

Nuriko looked back over his shoulder only to see Rosie's panic-stricken blue eyes desperately fixed on his worried violet ones. The girl had a hand to her arm, fighting to go faster as the angry swarm started to descend on her. "Help! They're gonna kill me!" she cried, tears running down her face and fear in her every syllable. "Please!"

The young man reacted quickly, turning back and sweeping the angel up in his arms just as the wasps engulfed the spot where they had been moments ago.

"Don't worry, I've got you." Nuriko reassured as Rosie pressed her face into his tunic, trembling with fright. "We're gonna lose 'em around this curve in the path, okay? I'm gonna run into the trees and they'll give up."

Rosie couldn't speak so she just nodded her understanding, eyes shut tight.

True to his word, Nuriko streaked around the bend in the dirt path then swerved into the woods. The angry hiss of the wasps faded then died as they weaved through the trees. Once he was sure the wasps had truly given up, Nuriko skidded to a stop, sinking to the ground under an oak and gasping for breath. Rosie was still hanging onto his tunic for dear life, trembling like a leaf and crying softly.

"You okay?" the seishi asked once he was able to breath normally again.

The angel shook her head. "I-It hurts!" she sobbed "An' I'm scared…"

"It's okay, you're safe now. The wasps won't come after us in here." Nuriko soothed "Let me see those bites."

Rosie shook her head again, tightening her hold on Nuriko's tunic. "No, you're gonna hurt me!" she whimpered.

"No I won't." the young man said, a bite of impatience in his voice "Let me see so I can fix them up for you."

Rosie lifted her face and looked into Nuriko's large violet eyes. "You're mad at me, aren't you?" she asked softly.

A small part of Nuriko just wanted to come back with a sarcastic comment like 'of course not, all you did was have me chased by a swarm of angry wasps!' but looking down at Rosie and seeing the remorse in her blue eyes made his anger fade away to nothing and he sighed. "I'm not _mad _at you," the young man said, voice gentler now. "Just a little annoyed is all. I mean, all you've done is get angry with me and nearly get me stung by wasps when all I tried to do was be nice."

"I knew it!" Rosie cried, the tears sliding faster down her cheeks "You hate me now an' s'all my fault!" The tiny girl buried her face in her hands, her red hair falling around her small face.

Nuriko's heart melted and broke at the same time as he watched Rosie sobbing into her hands. _So she does like me after all. _he thought with a small smile. Out loud, he said, "I don't hate you. I could never hate someone so cute and innocent."

Rosie peeked over her fingers at Nuriko. "R-really?" she sniffled, "You don't hate me?"

Nuriko shook his head. "Hey, if I hated you d'you think I woulda risked getting stung by a horde of angry wasps to save you?" he asked with a playful grin.

Rosie smiled back at him, although her smile was more watery and a little shy. "I guess not…I'm sorry I was mean. I really do like you, only I wanted to play with Chiri' an' I was mad 'cause he hadda go work."

"It's alright, I figured that was why you were giving me such a hard time." the purple-haired seishi shrugged, gently brushing the girl's fiery hair off her face. "Now, show me those bites before they get worse."

Rosie held out both her arms to reveal two welts on each forearm. "An' here," she said, gingerly touching the tip of her wing "An' here," the back of her left knee "An' here." She brought a hand to the back of her shoulder.

"Hmm…well we've pretty much lost the stingers," Nuriko reported, gently turning the girl's arm over in his hands "So they'll have to stay in, but we can make the swelling go down and get rid of the stinging feeling."  He picked up the angel again and set off for the palace. "We'll take you to see Mits, he's the healer around here."

Rosie's eyes lit up. "I know him! He's the guy that fixed my cheek when Gen-chan hit me with th' apple an' when I breaked my wing!" she said happily "He's real nice."

Nuriko laughed. "You get hurt a lot, don't you?"

"Nuh-uh! I only got hurt once!" Rosie cried indignantly "Well… twice if you count just now. The first time was Gen-chan's fault!"  

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Why did Tasuki throw an apple at you, anyways?" the violet-haired seishi asked curiously. "Did you give him the same treatment you gave me when you guys first met?"

 Rosie giggled. "Nah, it was worse. I stole his big metal fan thingie and made him chase after me t'get it back, then when he showed me how t'use it I almost fried him! He was yellin' and cursin' at me like you wouldn't believe!"

"Oh, I'd believe it." Nuriko said, shaking his head in amusement "You should hear him when he brawls with Tama, every curse known to mankind goes flying out of his mouth!"

"Yeah, that my Gen-chan." Rosie said with a smile "First time he saw me he cursed at me." The girl suddenly frowned. "Are we there yet?" she asked, rubbing at her arms. "These things burn like crazy!"

"Just a little further." The violet haired seishi said reassuringly. "See? Two more steps and…"  Nuriko knocked on the door. "We're there."

The door opened but instead of Mitsukake, Chichiri stood in the doorframe. He started a little and looked down at Rosie. "What happened, no da? Why d'you have wasp bites on your arms?"

"I flew into a nest an' the wasps chased me…" Rosie explained, looking down at the floor. "They were biting me an' I woulda got more, only Nuriko saved me."

"Well thank the gods he was there, no da." the monk said in relief, taking Rosie from Nuriko's arms and carrying her to a nearby chair, Nuriko following close behind. "How did you manage to hit the nest in the first place?"

Rosie looked up guiltily. She glanced at Nuriko then said in a tiny, apologetic voice. "I ran away from Nuriko 'cause I didn't wanna play with him an' then I hit th' nest with my wing…" Her lower lip trembled as she faced Chichiri's stern glance. "No more lessons, huh?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

The monk opened his mouth to reply, but Nuriko cut in. "Aw give her a chance, Chiri'. Look at that face, she's sorry. Right, Rosie?"

The angel nodded quickly. "I promise, I learneded my lesson!" she pleaded, her voice starting to get tearful again.

"Welll... I don't know, no da," the mage said with a frown. "If I let you off the hook, I'd be going back on my word."

" Demo…" Rosie started to protest. She trailed off, bowing her head in acceptance of the older seishi's words, her tiny shoulders shaking as she stared determinedly at the floor.

"Oh come on Chichiri!" cried Nuriko "She's just a kid, give her another chance! Besides, don't you think she's been punished enough? I mean, she's got five wasp stings for the love of Suzaku!"

Chichiri smiled beneath his mask. It was funny how every person Rosie met seemed to be drawn in by her irrepressible character, even Tasuki had learned to like the tiny child. He himself hadn't escaped the girl's charm, so his decision had been made from the very beginning. Hehadwanted the message to sink in though, so he had made a show of keeping to his promise. He pretended to think over Nuriko's protests and said "Okay, I'll still teach you to fish, but you have to stay still while we fix you up first, no da. Alright?"  

Rosie looked up sharply. "Really!?" she exclaimed, brushing tears off her face. "You mean it?"

Chichiri nodded. "Really. I promise we'll go to the lake right after Mitsukake comes back and fixes the bites."

The angel's face split into a grin and she jumped out of her chair and into Nuriko's arms, throwing her arms around the young man's neck. "I love you!" she cried happily "You made Chiri'-san change his mind! You're the best babysitter ever!" The child looked up into the seishi's surprised violet eyes and laughed. "Not used to kids, are ya?" she asked, an impish smile playing about her lips. 

Nuriko blushed a light pink and shook his head. "N-not really." he admitted. 

Rosie shook her head. "S'okay. Neither are lotsa people 'round here," she said, giving Nuriko a light kiss on the cheek.

The seishi went scarlet and abruptly changed the subject before he could be embarrassed in front of Chichiri again. "S-so where _is_ Mits anyway?"  he asked the mage, who was doing his best to hide a smile.

"He went to the lake to get some water, no da." Chichiri explained. "He needed it to boil herbs in before I could teach him the tea recipe, no da."

Nuriko nodded and Rosie looked up. "Don't you know how to fix these Chiri'-san?" she asked, rubbing furiously at the tip of her wing in an effort to stop the constant stinging.

The monk shook his head. "I'm sorry, no da. I haven't been stung by a wasp since I was six, no da." he said apologetically "I'm afraid I've forgotten how to take away the stinging."

Rosie gave him a miserable look as she rubbed both her arms furiously. "But it hurts…" she whimpered. "When's the doctor gonna be done getting water?"

"He's done right now actually." a deep voice said from the doorway.

The two seishi and Rosie spun around to face Mitsukake, who had returned to the clinic and was just setting down two jugs of water. Rosie wriggled out of Nuriko's arms and ran to the tall seishi. "Make it stop hurting!" she cried, looking up at the healer with pleading blue eyes. "Please?"

Mitsukake looked down at the angel in mild surprise. "What's wrong?" he asked, kneeling so he was at eye level with the tiny angel. "Where does it hurt?"

"Here," Rosie told him, holding out both her arms "An' here," she showed him her wing "An' in back of my knee. I got bit by wasps an' it really burns. Please make it better?" 

"Well, I'll see what's what with the stings and then I'll fix them up. How's that sound?" the healer asked kindly.

Rosie nodded in agreement and climbed back into the chair Chichiri had put her in earlier. Mitsukake came and gently took her right arm in his hand. He looked it over for a few minutes then picked up the girl's other arm and did the same. He looked over the welt on the back of her knee and nodded to himself as he gently took Rosie's downy wing between his large hands. The doctor frowned as he examined Rosie's wing, he wasn't sure what to make of the swollen reddish-purple patch under the feathers. He felt around the bump, checking for any other unusual signs, thinking that maybe Rosie was allergic to wasp stings and found several scars and a deep cut that was almost healed. The healer looked questioningly down at Rosie and the girl looked apprehensively into his deep brown eyes. For a second the two stayed that way, just staring into one another's eyes and suddenly realization showed on Mitsukake's face. His eyes widened and his confused look turned to one of disbelief. Rosie swallowed hard and gave the tall seishi a meaningful look. 'Don't tell' she mouthed, looking sidelong at Chichiri and Nuriko to make sure they hadn't seen the silent exchange. The monk and the purple-haired seishi made no sign of having noticed but when Rosie turned back to Mitsukake, the two exchanged puzzled glances. Mitsukake looked down into Rosie's blue eyes for a second, and then nodded shortly. He finished checking over the girl's wing and said, "It's not too bad, there's only some minor swelling and a bit of a bump. I'll put some cooling salve on it to stop the stinging and I'll try to get the swelling to go down a bit."

Rosie sighed in relief and nodded as the healer opened up his medical kit, pulled out a jar of light green paste and started spreading it over the wasp stings on Rosie's arms. When he had finished applying the paste, Mitsukake cut small pieces of cloth and tied them around the angel's arms. As he reached across the girl's shoulder to get to her wing, Mitsukake whispered, "I won't tell the others how you got those scars, but I think you should. They could help you, especially Chichiri, he knows about this sort of thing. "

"But if I tell, I'll get in real bad trouble." Rosie whispered back. "I'll get worse than a few cuts an' a few missing feathers. That's why I can't tell, she'll know an' then I'm gonna pay, but good." The angel's voice was shaking with fear and a few tears started to slip down her cheeks. 

Mitsukake started to pull away, not wanting Nuriko and Chichiri to accidentally overhear his whispered conversation with Rosie, not to mention if Rosie suddenly burst into tears it would look as if he'd hurt her, and that was the last thing the healer wanted. As he drew back, the doctor said softly "Be strong, it'll get better one day. You'll see."

Rosie looked up at Mitsukake as the doctor tied the last bandage around her knee and smiled a little. "I know." she said, giving the healer a small smile "One day it's gonna be me an' 'kaa-san up there an' it'll all be right again."

The tall doctor smiled back at her and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. "That's a girl," he said quietly "Never give up."

Meanwhile, Nuriko was looking from Rosie to Mitsukake and back again in total bewilderment. He turned to Chichiri in confusion. "Do _you_ understand any of this?" he asked.

Chichiri laughed. "Not really, no da." the monk replied "I think it's something just between those two, no da." Despite the smile that his mask wore, Chichiri was far from laughing. He frowned and looked at Rosie, who was pulling on Nuriko's arm and trying to drag the purple-haired seishi out the door.

"Come _on_!" the girl cried, tugging on Nuriko's shirtsleeve. "I wanna go back outside 'cause then Chiri-san'll finish in here faster an' then I can fish."

"Okay! Okay, I'm coming!" Nuriko laughed as he let the tiny angel tug him out the door and out into the sunlit palace grounds.

Once Chichiri was sure that Rosie and Nuriko were safely out of earshot, the monk turned to Mitsukake. "What were you saying to Rosie, no da?" he asked casually, although he had a bad feeling he knew what it was. "How come she asked you not to tell?"

The doctor hesitated for a minute then sighed. "I told her I wouldn't say," he said hesitantly  "but I think you already guessed Rosie's secret. Besides, even if you didn't, I know you wouldn't do anything rash and put her in danger so I guess it's okay to tell you." Mitsukake too a deep breath and continued "Rosie's being mistreated at home. She has several scars on her wing, hidden under the feathers. I'm sure that she couldn't have done that herself because there was a deep cut on the inside of her wing where it connects to her shoulder, the side that could only be reached by another's hands. "   

 Chichiri sighed heavily. He took off his mask, placing it on a nearby table. "I thought as much," he said gravely "She's always scared that someone's going to hit her, she's sensitive to the slightest change in someone's mood and she gets very evasive if anyone even mentions her home life. I wondered about that at first, but when she was in Tasuki's arms after she broke her wing she kept flinching back from his touch as if she expected to be hit. That's when I guessed the truth and you just confirmed the worst of my fears."

 "What are we going to do, Chichiri?" Mitsukake asked with a frown "I feel so helpless, knowing that Rosie has to go home to violence but not knowing how to keep her safe..."

" I know what you mean, but what can we do?" Chichiri said, voice full of sadness and bitter regret   "When she goes home, that poor child's going to get the worst treatment of her young life and yet I know we can't keep her from going home because then the guardian will know Rosie told us that she gets hit at home and it'll be worse for her."

Mitsukake sighed and passed a hand over his face. "Maybe it'll all work out and we won't need to do anything…" 

A few silent seconds passed and suddenly Mitsukake's face lit up as a thought struck him. "I know what we can do!" he exclaimed, " We can teach her to stand up to her guardian. I'm sure Tasuki's already shown Rosie a few ways to stand up for herself and if we help her too, maybe she'll be able to hold on until her mother comes to join her."

Chichiri thought for a second. "That's a good idea, but the thing is Rosie knows how to stand up for what she wants. I've seen her do it," the monk said slowly "The problem is how do you stand up to someone who's bigger and stronger than you and isn't afraid to hurt you?"  

"Couldn't you cast a barrier around her?" the doctor asked, starting to get discouraged again.

"I couldn't cast a barrier around her, but she could." Chichiri's eye suddenly glowed with triumph. "That's it, I'll teach her how to use defensive spells!" he cried, "She already knows some magic, all I'd have to do is teach her the words and telepathically transmit the skill to her…yes!" The mage clapped a hand on Mitsukake's shoulder. "Thanks to you, Rosie will be safe until her mother comes to her. How does it feel to be the hero for once, no da?"  

The healer blushed a bright red and looked down at the floor. "I didn't really do anything…" he stammered shyly "_You_ thought of it after all…"

"Yes, but it was only because you suggested a barrier spell, no da." Chichiri reminded him.

Mitsukake smiled and put a hand behind his head. "I guess I did kind of help you think of that, didn't I."

Chichiri nodded and picked up his mask from the table where he'd left it. "I'd better go find Rosie before she gets into more trouble, no da." he said as he headed for the door. "I'll teach you the tea recipe tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright. See you then." Mitsukake waved as Chichiri slipped on his mask and went out the door.

A/N: well here we are the end of chapter 14. Wow, this one's really long…I guess I got carried away. Oh well more to read, ne? Anyways here's the glossary and see you next time.

Demo means but like in 'but I don't want to' or something like that.

'kaa-san means mother 

and of course 'no da' is Chichiri's signature speech pattern.

~Tenshi Kitsune~  


	15. Magic And Little Girls Spell Trouble Esp...

A/N: ch15 already…wow never thought I'd be here. But I am and it's a good thing! Here we go with the chapter I like to call 'the calm before the storm'. Of course that's not the actual title, but oh well. As usual Rosie's mine and Fushigi Yuugi isn't. Here we go….

Rosie and Nuriko were making their way across the palace lawns, heading for the spot where Chichiri could usually be found fishing and just as they reached the top of a slight rise in the landscape, Rosie stopped in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" Nuriko asked in concern "Did you hurt yourself?"

Rosie shook her head. "Nuh-uh, lookit! Over the hill and to th' left!" the girl cried pointing straight ahead.

Nuriko followed the angel's gaze, trying to see what she was pointing at. All the violet haired seishi could make out was a patch of sunlight and the silhouette of some approaching figure.   

"It's Gen-chan!" Rosie exclaimed as the figure came closer making the patch of sunlight shift into dancing flame-colored locks and the silhouette morph into the form of the bandit. "He's awake!" The angel looked up at Nuriko with wide blue eyes. "Can I go see him?" she asked, tugging on the purple haired seishi's sleeve "Please?"

Nuriko laughed. "Sure, go ahead. I'll wait for you here, okay?"

Rosie nodded shortly and took off running. "Gen-chan!" she cried, flying into the young man's knees and nearly knocking him to the ground. "Finally! I thought you were gonna sleep all day!"

"Yeah, yeah I missed you too kid." Tasuki laughed, sweeping the girl into his arms and ruffling her fiery hair.

"Didja see who was watchin' me before you got here?" the angel asked, pointing at Nuriko as they finally rejoined the purple-haired seishi. 

"Well, well, well. Everyone's favorite okama's taken up babysitting has he?" the bandit teased, giving Nuriko a fangy grin. "Never knew ya liked kids so much."

"You're one to talk Fang-boy!" Nuriko retorted, "For someone who hates girls, you sure let this little one wrap you around her cute baby finger, didn't you?"

Tasuki turned bright red and hastily set Rosie down. "I did not!" he cried indignantly "Ain't no girl ever gonna get _this_ bandit on a leash!"

Nuriko laughed, mischief sparking in his eyes. "Suuurree…that's why your face's redder than the roses in Hotohori-sama's garden, right?"

"Yeah! I mean, no it's not! Shaddap before I fry ya!" the bandit growled, his light red blush shading into deep scarlet from his cheeks right to the roots of his fiery hair.

Rosie looked up at the two seishi in total confusion, turning from one to the other. "Whadda ya mean I got Gen-chan 'round my finger?" she demanded, turning questioning blue eyes on Nuriko. "What's that asposed to mean?"

"It means that Fang-boy's at your mercy!" the violet haired seishi managed between fits of helpless laughter "He'd probably jump in the pond if you asked him to. Dear Suzaku, I never thought I'd see the day when Tasuki would actually _like _a girl."

Rosie rounded on Tasuki. "An' what 'sactly is wrong with girls anyways?" she accused, giving the bandit a hard stare.

Tasuki raised his hands in front of himself in a gesture of peace. "Nothin's wrong with girls!" he said quickly "At least not ones your size." he corrected himself after a second "Kids aren't so bad, it's all th' other ones that're more trouble than they're worth."

The angel nodded, the accusative look in her eyes shifting to curiosity. "Why are big girls more trouble than they're worth?" she asked curiously. A thought struck her and the girl looked at Nuriko then added "An' how come you like Nuri-chan? He's almost jus' like a girl y'know." 

"Well, she _is_ right y'know." Nuriko admitted as Tasuki sent a mocking grin his way.

"Yeah, I guess she is at that." Tasuki laughed, "Anyways, it's not like Nuriko's a real girl. He doesn't make me feel all weird inside or cry for every little thing that happens and he definitely isn't useless like most girls I know. He's just...well...Nuriko. You can't help but like him in a way, 'cause of the way he is, y'know?" The bandit frowned and shook his head, brow creased in deep thought. "What I mean is, with girls ya never can tell whether they're tellin' the truth or jus' playin' with you but Nuriko, he's always up front. He never tries to hide the fact that he's different, never pretends to like ya if he hates ya…I can't really explain it, but I guess I like Nuriko 'cause he's who he is an' that's it. No games, no lies, you get what you pay for. Get what I'm sayin'?"

Rosie nodded. "Oh." She looked back at the purple haired seishi in question and saw that he was looking at Tasuki with wide violet eyes and a somewhat bemused expression on his face. "I think you just changed the way Nuri-chan thinks of you." the angel informed her babysitter with a small smile.

Tasuki blushed bright red and scuffed the toe of one booted foot on the grass. "Well, it's true..." he mumbled.

"Awww! I love you too Fang-boy!" Nuriko cried, throwing his arms around Tasuki and hugging the bandit.

Luckily, Rosie had had the presence of mind to wriggle out of Tasuki's arms and jump to the side so as to not get caught between the two seishi. Meanwhile Tasuki was turning every shade of the rainbow as he struggled to pry Nuriko off of him.

"Lemme go! Lemme go goddammit!" he yelled, pulling in vain at his brother warrior's arms "I can't breath!"

Nuriko loosened his grip on Tasuki and looked up into the bandit's amber eyes. "Sorry Gen-chan! I keep forgetting how strong I am."

"Yeah, well don't forget next time. I need my ribs y'know!" the flame haired seishi grumbled, finally managing to free himself from Nuriko's hug.

"Oh, stop gripping, big baby." Nuriko laughed, giving Tasuki a playful punch in the arm.

The bandit stumbled sideways and nearly fell over with the force of the punch. "Dammit! I said watch it, you idiot!" Tasuki cried in annoyance, regaining his footing and hitting Nuriko back.

"Hey! I only gave you a light tap on the arm!" the purple haired seishi protested "Take that!"

With that the two were on the grass in a heated fist-fight. Rosie stood a little ways off watching the shrieking, cursing blur of red and purple grappling with one another. She giggled as Tasuki let out a high pitched scream and cried "Above the waist! Hit _above_ the waist!".

"Maybe I should help him…" Rosie said to herself as she saw Nuriko land a punch just millimeters from Tasuki's lower abdomen. She tapped her nose with her index finger, thinking this over. "Nah." she decided "Let him play with his friend."

The girl started to walk towards the pond where she was supposed to meet Chichiri, then stopped as she caught sight of the now-familiar figure of the monk heading towards her.

"'Chiri!" she shouted happily, running to the mage and dashing into his waiting arms. "I missed you!" The angel beamed up at the blue-hired seishi and added excitedly "You're gonna teach me to fish now, right?"

Chichiri laughed. "That's right, no da." He turned serious for a moment, setting Rosie on her feet and kneeling in front of her on the soft grass, looking the girl straight in the eyes. "But first, I need to teach you something else, something very important. Can you learn it for me?"

Rosie frowned at the sudden change in Chichiri's tone. "What's so impor'ant?" she asked a little fearfully "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Chichiri assured her hurriedly "I promise. I just wanted to teach you a few spells in case you ever need to use them."

"Why would I need magic?" the angel asked in confusion. 

"To protect yourself," the monk replied, being careful not to reveal to Rosie that he knew her secret "in case you ever landed in strange parts where the people aren't so nice."

The small girl's brow creased in thought as suspicion started to grow in her mind. She reached out and pulled Chichiri's mask off, looking deep into the mage's mahogany eye.

"You know." she said abruptly, voice soft and accusing. 

Chichiri sighed. He should have known Rosie would figure it out eventually. "I'm sorry." he apologized "I don't mean to pry into your personal business or get you in trouble, but I can't just sit back and do nothing knowing that an innocent is being hurt. Please don't be upset with me…"

"Did he tell you?" the angel demanded, crossing her arms in front of herself.

"Did who tell me?" Chichiri asked quizzically, arranging his features into what he hoped was a confused look. After all, he didn't want to get Mitsukake in trouble as well.

"Mitsu. Is he the one who told on me?" Rosie looked down at her feet, letting her arms drop to her sides as tears of shame began to well in her blue eyes.

"Nobody told me." Chichiri reassured her. "I figured it out. The signs were all there and after I saw you crying in Tasuki's arms yesterday after you broke your wing… I just knew."   

"Then-then you know why I'm always 'fraid of people…" Tears were falling openly down the angel's cheeks now and she clenched her hands into tight fists, her shoulders shaking with a combination of grief and fear. "You know why I can't go back…"

Chichiri dropped down into a cross-legged position and pulled the girl into his arms, cradling her gently against his chest as she cried. 

"I don't wanna go home…" she sobbed "Not ever!" 

"I know you don't want to sweetheart, but you have to go back…" the mage said quietly, rubbing the girl's back soothingly. "We can't keep you here…"

"Why?" the angel asked miserably "Why can't I stay with you guys? I won't get in the way…" She looked up at Chichiri, her face tear-streaked and pleading. "I promise! I'll do whatever you want!"

She looked so pitiful that Chichiri felt his heart nearly break in two. "I'm sorry…it's not that we don't want you here," he started "it's that…" He trailed off, trying to find a way to make Rosie understand without scaring her. "If you stay, your guardian will come looking for you." the mage said finally. "If that happens, then you're in worse danger than you're in now."

"Demo…I don't wanna go back!" the girl protested "She's gonna get me either way, so why can't I just stay here?"

The mage sighed. "It's not that easy Rosie." he said quietly, gently resting his chin on the girl's head and pulling her closer to him "You're not ours, if we kept you here it would be like we were stealing you from your home."

"But I am home!" the angel cried in desperation, her tears coming faster as she felt her heart clenching with fear and sadness. She buried her face in Chichiri's kesa and whispered. "Home is s'posed t'be where you feel like people love you, so-so I'm already home…" 

"I know how you feel, but this isn't my decision to make," the young man told her, his voice gentle with compassion "It isn't any of ours. Besides, if you stayed here, wouldn't you miss your mother?"

"I-if I stayed here I could see her everyday…" Rosie said brokenly. "She on'y lives two leagues from th' palace…that's why I was out here in th' first place, t'get away from Aika…"

Chichiri flinched inwardly. This was going to be harder than he expected. He had know since the beginning that it would be difficult to send Rosie back to her guardian, but now, as he sat there with the sobbing child in his arms, knowing what he knew and also knowing he was helpless to save her, the task seemed impossible. He drew the tiny girl as close as he could and gave her a soft kiss on the head. "It's going to be alright, you'll see. When your guardian comes we'll try to convince her that it would be better to leave you in our care until your mother comes for you. In the mean time we have to give you a fighting chance against her. What do you say; can you try your best to learn what I'm going to teach you?"

Rosie nodded silently. "But not now." she whimpered softly, tightening her hold on Chichiri's kesa "I wanna stay here…"

The monk nodded, shifting Rosie so that his arms could reach all the way around her and offer as much reassurance as possible. For a few minutes it was silent, the only sounds being birdsong and the gentle lapping of water against rocks. All of a sudden, the mage felt footsteps reverberating underneath him and he recognized the familiar ki pattern of his fiery younger brother.

"Hey, what's wrong?" the bandit asked the minute he got close enough to the two on the grass. "Why's my angel cryin'?" He knelt in front of Chichiri and reached out a hand to brush Rosie's hair away from her face. "What happened?"

"Chiri' says I gotta go home…" Rosie told him, peeking out from behind a fold of the kesa she still held. "I don't wanna go home…"

"Is that all? No big deal, you can stay here." Tasuki assured her with a small smile "We'll take care of ya."

"B-but Chiri' said you'll get in trouble if I stay here." Rosie sniffled, looking up at Tasuki with tear-filled blue eyes "He said it's not you guy's decision…"  

"Well, I don't care who's decision it's supposed to be," Tasuki informed her, his amber eyes full of stubborn assertion  "Ain't no way in either of th' seven hell's I'm lettin' you go back to somewhere you don't wanna be."

"Tasuki, don't tell her that." Chichiri chided "You know as well as I do that we can't keep her here without permission. We have to give her back to her guardian."

"Why should we?" the bandit challenged "Th' kid obviously doesn't wanna go and there's gotta be a reason for her not wantin' to go, so I say keep her here and forget askin' nicely."

"If we keep her here without asking, not only do we risk being charged with stealing a child, but we also run the risk of making life more difficult for Rosie." Chichiri explained. "Don't forget there's a war coming and if we keep Rosie here she'll get drawn into it as well. Do you really want to expose a five-year-old to something like that? Do you think that the Seriyuu seven will have any qualms about using her as bait to get to us?"

Tasuki frowned. "I guess not…I mean, you're right, it's just." He looked at Rosie's tear-soaked face "Look at her! She's completely miserable! I don't wanna make her cry…"

Chichiri smiled reassuringly at him. "I know, I don't want to make her cry either. In fact, I have an idea on how we can get a smile back on this adorable little face." He looked down at Rosie. "Ready to learn now?" he asked kindly, carefully brushing tears from the girl's eyes with his thumb. "No more crying?"

Rosie nodded and gave him a tiny half-smile. "'Kay." She got to her feet and the other two followed suit, Chichiri pulling on his mask as he stood. "Now what?" the angel asked around occasional hiccups.

"Watch." Chichiri cupped his hands together, placing one over the other and forming a dome with his palms. He breathed a short spell and suddenly a soft blue light shone between his fingers.

"Wow, cool!" breathed Rosie, swiping a hand across her eyes to dash away the last of her tears, impressed by the complicated-looking magic. "What's it do?"

"It's a special spell-orb, no da." Chichiri explained "It teaches you everything I know about defensive spells and how to use them." He knelt before Rosie and told her to hold out her hands. The angel obeyed and Chichiri carefully placed the glowing orb in her hands. "There." he said, nodding approvingly "Now concentrate on the orb and let it sink into your hands, no da."

Rosie nodded solemnly and squeezed her eyes shut, one tiny fang poking out the corner of her mouth as she focused everything she had on the orb. Suddenly, a light turquoise light glowed around the angel and her eyes flew open in wonder as the light faded and disappeared. 

"What just happened 'Chiri?" Tasuki asked quizzically. "Did that ball of light morph into her or somethin'?"

"That's right, no da." Chichiri answered, getting to his feet once more "Now Rosie knows the spells and the words to summon the magic."

"So that was all those funny voices…" the girl in question murmured softly. She looked up at Chichiri and Tasuki, her eyes bright and full of joy. "I wanna try a spell! I wanna try a spell!" the angel cried excitedly. "Please, please pleeeaaase_?_" She put on her most innocent face and looked up at Tasuki "Onegai, Gen-chan?"

Tasuki opened his mouth to say 'yes', then realized he didn't know if it was safe to use the spell or not. "Ask the magic man." he shrugged. "I don't know nothin' 'bout magic."

Rosie turned to Chichiri and the mage laughed at her enthusiasm. "Try the holding spell, no da." the monk instructed. "We can use Tasuki as our willing volunteer. Right Tasuki?"

"Oh, no ya don't! Not this seishi!" Tasuki protested, putting his hands up in front of him and taking a step backwards. "Ain't no way you're gonna make me volunteer t'be blown t'smithereens!"

Rosie's face fell. "But I wanna try it…" she quavered "You said I could…"

"Aww… goddammit!" Tasuki swore "You know I can't resist that little pouty face, play fair!"  

Rosie only opened her eyes wider and looked up at the bandit from beneath her lashes, looking as cute as she could. "Please Gen-chan? Pretty, pretty please?" she begged "It would make me happy…"

"You want to make her happy, don't you Tasuki?" Chichiri chimed in, catching on to Rosie's plan. "After all, what harm could one tiny holding spell do, no da?"

Tasuki's face twisted into a grimace as he tried to keep his lips from forming the word he knew the other two wanted to hear. "Y…Gyahh! Okay already, just stop gangin' up on me!" he cried, giving in at last. "And I warn ya now, if somethin' happens and I get fried, I am personally gonna make sure you pay 'Chiri!"

The monk laughed and shook his head amusedly. "Hear that Rosie? Be careful, or the famous Shadow Wolf of the Mount. Reikaku bandits will be after me, no da."

Rosie giggled. "That's not a wolf, it's just Gen-chan." she told the mage, casually dismissing her babysitter as a minor threat. "I'll protect you from him, don't worry."

"Hey! I'm standin' right here kid!" the bandit exclaimed indignantly "If you're gonna insult me at least wait 'til I'm outta earshot!"

Rosie laughed again. "Sorry." she apologized "'Kay. So how's this work?" she asked, turning back to Chichiri. "I jus' lift up my hands like this" She put her two hands out in front of her, palms facing Tasuki's annoyed form "then I say 'Futhege'?" A red light shone from the girl's palms and hit Tasuki in the chest, sending the bandit stumbling back a few paces.

"Ow! Watch it kid, that hurt!" the flame haired seishi yelped "You're supposed to freeze me, not kill me!"

""Like that?" the girl asked.

"Almost but not quite, no da." Chichiri corrected "It's 'Fusege', like this." The mage held out his right hand and casually froze Tasuki in place. "See? You have to say the words right to be able to work the correct spell, no da." The mage unfroze Tasuki, who was looking like he was doing his best to contain his annoyance at being forced to be the human guinea pig, and turned back to Rosie. "You try." 

Rosie nodded shortly and stuck out her hands. "Fusekeh!" she yelled. This time a jet of silvery light flew from her palms and hit Tasuki in the jaw.

"Dammit, kid, you're doin' this on purpose!" the bandit cried, gingerly massaging his cheek where a purple bruise was beginning to form.

"I am not!" Rosie retorted "Not my fault all th' words are big an' funny!"

"Here, try saying the word with me then." Chichiri suggested. "Fu-se-ge."

"Fu-th-e-ge?" the angel ventured.

Chichiri shook his head. "Fu_sege. 'Se' in the middle, no da."_

Rosie nodded and her brows knitted as she repeated the sound in her head a few times. "I got it!" she exclaimed. She thrust her right hand forward, supporting it with her left and yelled "Fusege!"  

Tasuki winced as he thought he felt another jet of light hit him, then his eyes widened as he realized he couldn't move. "Hey! I-I'm frozen!" he stammered in shock. "She actually did it!"

Rosie's face split into a grin and she jumped into the air. "Yeah!" she cheered "I did it!"

"Good job, Rosie." Chichiri applauded "Now let him go, no da."

"Okay." the angel shrugged. She put out her hand again, and then slowly lowered it as a thought struck her. "Um…how?" she asked apologetically.

"Put your hand parallel to your face and say 'hanase'." Chichiri instructed "Now remember to say it right because this one could be dangerous if you mispronounce it, no da."

Rosie's eyes widened. "Y-you do it." she said uncertainly. "I don't wanna hurt Gen-chan by accident."   

"I can't, no da." Chichiri told her regretfully. "It's not my spell field; if I use my magic to break it you'd be hurt."

"O-okay…I-I'll try." the girl nodded doubtfully. Hesitantly she raised her right hand, "H-ha…" She broke off mid-sentence then swallowed hard and tried again. "H-hanabi!" she cried. An eerie purple light shone from her hand and suddenly Tasuki was surrounded with the light as well.

"H-hey, this-this ain't right!" Tasuki said haltingly "I can move, but why's this light all around me?"

Rosie desperately tried to lower her hand, keep the magic from getting to her hand, anything but the force of the spell she'd summoned was keeping her hand firmly aimed at Tasuki. "No! No, stop it!" she sobbed as tears flowed down her cheeks "Don't make me hurt him!"

"Damnit!" Chichiri swore, realizing which spell Rosie had accidentally cast "Not that one!" The monk quickly put his hands one over the other so that they were palm to palm with a small space between them. "Owari!" he shouted, pulling his hands apart and aiming the white light in his palms at Tasuki and Rosie. 

For a second it almost didn't work. The light around Tasuki was glowing brighter than ever and the fiery seishi's face was twisted into a pained expression, fear showing in his amber eyes. Then just as suddenly as it had appeared, the purple light disappeared and Tasuki fell to his knees. 

A/N: well finally I got chapter 15 out and up. Hope the length made up for the long absence and if not, well sorry…college y'know. Midterms are demon's spawn! Anyways lots of words and a cheerful farewell for you all. 

Owari- it means end. Usually it means the end of a story, but I thought it would work for then end of a spell too.

Hanabi-fireworks

Hanase- to release, let go of

Fusege- freeze

Onegai-please

That's all I could find, lemme know if I missed any words.

Later

~Tenshi Kitsune~ 


	16. Be Careful With Childern For They are Fr...

A/n: And so the story goes on. As usual Fushigi Yuugi isn't mine, but take Rosie with no permission and I'll come after you with a spoon. No, really, she's mine! *ahem* yes, onto the chappy then…  

 Tasuki fell to his knees and Chichiri rushed to his star brother's side, gently supporting the young man with an arm around his shoulders. "Tasuki! Are you alright?" he asked worriedly "Talk to me!"

But Tasuki couldn't speak for a minute, his voice sticking in his throat as he tried to shake the burning feeling that had engulfed him only seconds before. 

"Come on, Gen-chan!" Rosie pleaded, her voice full of anguish at what she'd done "Wake up…you gotta say somethin'…you gotta be okay! You- you just gotta be!" 

The bandit felt a tiny hand close around his arm, and looked up into Rosie's horrified blue eyes. He opened his mouth to reassure both the girl and Chichiri, but again the words got stuck. He tried again. "I-I'm okay…" he managed finally "Just a little shaken s'all." 

"I'm so sorry!" Rosie sobbed, throwing her arms around Tasuki and holding the bandit as tight as she could. "I didn't mean it! I-I t-tried t'stop th' spell, I just…just couldn't…"

"It's not your fault kid." Tasuki reassured the angel, putting one hand behind the girl's head and the other around her back in a gentle hug.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Chichiri asked, the mystical features of his mask still creased in concern "Did you get burnt?"

Tasuki shook his head. "Nah, I just felt like I was bein' cooked alive. Didn't get burnt though…" he shuddered as he remembered the intense heat of the purple light. "All I know is that was th' freakiest thing I've ever felt in my life!"

"I'm sorry!" Rosie repeated, pressing her face into Tasuki's shoulder "I didn't mean it!"

"It's okay, kid." Tasuki assured her "You didn't do it on purpose it's not your fault."

"Tasuki's right, Rosie," Chichiri added "It was your first time using that spell. It was an accident that Tasuki got hurt."

"Yeah, but it's still my spell! An' my hands!" the angel cried, squeezing her eyes shut as guilty tears slipped down her cheeks "I still did it!"

"It was an accident." Chichiri repeated firmly "You couldn't have known that mispronouncing the spell would have that effect on Tasuki."

Rosie's sobs calmed for a second as she thought over this new information. Suddenly, she turned sharply and glared furiously at Chichiri. "But you did! You knew I could hurt him real bad with that spell an' you let me do it anyways! Even though I messed up th' other spell three times inna row, you made me do it anyways! It's all your fault you-you stupid…stupid idiot!"

Tasuki's eyes widened in outrage at the girl's outburst and he turned the angel back to face him. "Hey! Don't you yell at Chiri' like that!" the bandit told her severely "It was an accident, got it? It's nobody's fault!"     

Rosie looked up at the flame haired seishi, her eyes angry and full of tears. "What d'you know anyways!" she yelled, letting go of Tasuki and jumping to her feet. "It is his fault! He wouldn't undo th' spell, not me! I told him I didn't know how! I told him I didn't wanna hurt you! So shut up an' don't yell at me for nothin'!"

Chichiri and Tasuki stared at the girl in disbelief and time seemed to stand still as the tiny group froze in place. Tasuki opened his mouth, as if he were about to shout something back at the girl, but then decided against it and shook his head. Rosie stood rooted to the spot for a second, then her hands flew up to her mouth and a devastated sob escaped her. She whipped around and took off running, tears flying behind her as the wind swept the tiny droplets off her cheeks and into the air.

The two seishi on the grass looked at each other for a second, stunned into immobility for the second time in thirty seconds, then Tasuki shouted "After her, Chiri'!" They shot to their feet and streaked after the sobbing little angel.

"Rosie! Come back!" Chichiri called urgently "It's okay, we're not mad, just come back!"

The angel paid them no mind and jumped into the air, too ashamed at her harsh words to the people she loved most to want to face them just yet. Chichiri stopped in his tracks and pulled Tasuki to a stop as well. 

"What the hell Chiri'!" the bandit exclaimed angrily "We're gonna lose her!"

"I know." the monk replied breathlessly "That's the whole point. She needs some time to calm down, no da. We'll talk to her after."

"But she could be halfway across Konan by then!" the bandit protested "Then what're we gonna do?!"

"She won't go far." Chichiri said confidently. 

"How d'you know she won't?!" Tasuki retorted "How d'you know she won't just take off and run into Nakago or somethin'?"

"If you'd just calm down for a second you'd realize why." the mage told him. "Trust me, just stand still for a minute and concentrate, no da."

Tasuki gave Chichiri a doubtful stare then took a deep, calming breath and stood perfectly still for a second. He waited for a minute then turned back to Chichiri. "And I'm looking for…" he demanded, more than a little irritated at the monk's refusal to understand why they needed to follow Rosie.

"Can't you feel it?" Chichiri asked in confusion "Don't tell me you can't recognize Rosie's ki, no da."

"Fine I won't!" Tasuki cried in exasperated fury "I'll just tell ya that if you don't gimme one good reason not to take off after th' kid in the next thirty seconds…." 

"Calm down, no da." Chichiri repeated "I know exactly where she is because I can sense her ki. She's in the garden."

"Well then that's where I'm headed!" Tasuki announced, whirling around and taking a step towards the palace gardens.

"Wait; don't go to her just yet." Chichiri said, taking hold of his brother's shoulder in a firm grip. "She needs time to calm down, no da."

"An' I got a few things t'straighten out with her!" Tasuki retorted "Now leggo my arm!" With that the bandit pulled out of the mage's grip and took off for the gardens, using his seishi speed so that Chichiri couldn't catch up to him.

Tasuki slowed down as he entered the gardens, his keen senses on full alert for any sign of Rosie. After a minute he could make out phrases being whispered not too far away from where he was. He followed the voice and as he got closer and closer, he could hear the words were being sung softly and with a slight tremor in the notes, almost as if the singer were fighting back tears as they sang. 

The bandit's amber eyes widened in realization and he started to stride purposefully towards the row of hedges that the song was drifting from then stopped as one of the phrases hit him like a blow.

"_S-so... yatsu-me no asa ni izuko kara no uta ga mi-mi e-to to-do-ku ..._"

Tasuki stood frozen, listening to the strangely haunting melody and wondering what it was about these simple words that hit him so hard. 

"S-s_aa…a-atarashii sora ni subete wo shirushi-ta k-kumikyoku ga hi-bi-ku..._" 

Suddenly the soft words trailed off and Tasuki heard Rosie's familiar voice take over.

"'Kaa-san…"she whispered brokenly "Kaa-san, what do I do? I did something stupid…I-I made them hate me, an' now…now m'all 'lone again!"

"You're not alone," Tasuki's voice was firm, but still gentle enough to be reassuring "And nobody hates you…"

Rosie's head snapped up and she made to take flight again, but Tasuki was too fast for her. He took hold of her wings and held fast. The angel struggled to free herself, tears falling faster and faster down her face as guilt coursed through her.

"Get offa me!" she cried sharply, jerking sharply to the left and making Tasuki stumble slightly "Lemme go! I don't wanna talk now!"

"Well too bad." Tasuki shot back "Sometimes you gotta do things you don't necessarily wanna do."  

 "I don't gotta do nothin'!" Rosie yelled furiously, her guilty conscience adding to her aggravation and making her anger all the more intense. "You're not the boss of me! Now leggo!" 

"No! You're gonna hear me out whether you like it or not so just hold still, will ya?"

"Lemme go!" Rosie's small form had started to tremble with rage and grief, her palms glowing with an eerie white light. "I mean it!"

"For the last time, just calm down and hear me out." Tasuki's voice had softened somewhat and he loosened his grip on Rosie's wings a little as he felt feathers starting to come loose. "C'mon kid…just calm down. You're gonna hurt yourself. "

"Let go of my wings." Rosie's voice had gotten dangerously soft, the trembling sobs that had previously punctuated her words having been replaced with a low growl. "I mean it. You'll be sorry if you don't…"

"You won't hurt me…"  Tasuki said a little uncertainly "You won't be able to."

Rosie suddenly whirled to face him and the bandit was shocked to see fire glowing in the little girl's eyes. "You're right." she said flatly "I can't hurt you 'cause I love you too much, but I _can_ do this!" The girl wrenched her wings out of Tasuki's hands, leaving behind several feathers and jumping into the air.

Tasuki could only stare after her as she disappeared over the garden wall. He shook his head and looked down at the feathers in his hands. "Fuck!" he swore, clenching his fists around the soft down. "God fucking dammit!"

A second later there was a quiet rustling of leaves and Chichiri appeared from the other side of the hedge, having transported himself to the gardens when he first felt disturbances in Rosie's ki. 

Tasuki whirled to face him, hastily brushing tears from his eyes. "Why'd she do that?" he asked in frustrated confusion. "I just wanted to talk to her!"

"I'm sorry, but I told you so." Chichiri replied softly "She's too upset right now, she isn't about to reason with anybody."

Tasuki looked down at the feathers in his hands again. "I- I never meant for her to…" he whispered "I didn't want her to get hurt…"

"I know, but the damage has been done." the mage sighed "There's nothing you can do but wait. She'll come to us when she's ready, you'll see."

Tasuki nodded. "I hope so…"

A/n: because it is Christmas and because I have people over it ends here for now. The song Rosie sings is from Trigun. It's called 'Sound Life', Rem's song in case you want to hear it and the translations to the two lines I borrowed can be found at _www.animelyrics.com_. Just look up Trigun. See y'all next chappy,

~Tenshi Kitsune~ 


End file.
